Smash Hits is an All-Star tennis tournament hosted by Elton John and Billie Jean King to benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. I was very excited to hear it was coming to Atlanta this year.
My sister-in-law and I knew we had very good seats. But, when we got there, we really realized how GOOD they were. They could have only been any better if we shared Elton's seat. We were courtside, right behind Elton!
Before the game started, each player was introduced and lined up on the court. Elton and Billie Jean were the last to be called. They stood in line as the national anthem was played. Elton mouthed the words to the anthem. As Elton walked to his seat, I stood and yelled out, "GO TEAM ELTON!" Elton looked up, raised his arms and yelled, "YEAH!"
The whole night was filled with fun and excitement. This is not your ordinary tennis game. Because it was for charity, they players were not too serious about it so they joked around a lot. Billie Jean stood and yelled at Elton a lot and he shot back, "Shut up and sit down!" At one point, Elton gave the scorekeeper the finger and I even heard him call someone an asshole. But, it was all in fun.
Elton's music was played all night inbetween matches. Alexandra Stevens gave us a little show when she started to dance on the court to "Crocodile Rock". The crowd gave her a big applause.
The most animated players were Andre Agassi and Luke Jensen (what a hottie!). They danced, teased the ball chasers (I guess that's what you call them) and had their own congratulations "handshake", where they would jump up and bang their chests together.
Elton's team lead most of the game, but Team Billie Jean beat Team Elton 23-18. But, they were all winners tonight because they raised a lot of money for a great cause. |
