Tennis isn’t only thing smelling up Home Depot Center
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There has been a certain odor around the Home Depot Center in Carson this week as well as a bit of the thrill of the chase. By chase I mean double semi-trailer truckers who drive on the concrete walkway outside the tennis press center door at the venue this week during the L.A . Open tennis championships. Step out in the hallway at the wrong time and, quick, flatten yourself against the wall.
[Note: An earlier version of this post incorrectly referred to the Home Depot Center as the Hope Depot Center.]
The soccer field is being refreshed. Truckloads of dirt are rumbling through the hallways and it is a bit of a game for media and players to jump out of the way at just the right time when a semi bursts out of a corridor heading to the torn-up soccer field. The dirt is being turned over and freshened up with some potent smelling manure. Saw Flavia Pennetta, the Italian finalist at the tennis tournament, hold her nose as she walked by. Leave the press room for dinner and when hit by the wall of manure stench, one reconsiders hunger. But reconsiders again when it’s roast turkey with a fig sauce, cheesy mashed potatoes, baked beans and corn break. OK, Pam Shriver suggests baked beans aren’t best served when reporters must work in close corners, but they served baked beans and Shriver ate them. If there’s already the manure stench, what the heck, have an extra helping.
Had to run up to the concourse to make a cellphone call (don’t know whether my phone reception was befuddled by the miasma of manure stink or just stinky reception). When I was standing on the concourse between the soccer stadium and the tennis stadium, a young woman with a Russian accent and a man who appeared to be her father tapped my shoulder. ‘What is that smell?’ she asked. I tried to explain what manure is and how it is used to make dirt better for the grass. The man said something to the woman, and then held his nose. So I explained the benefits of manure to making nice, healthy grass. But unfortunately it smells. Bad. All around the stadium.
But the man perked up. American football? he asked through the English-speaking woman? No, it was explained; it’s football of the European kind, better known here as soccer.
The man’s face lighted up. Chelsea play here? Well, yeah, a couple of years ago against the Galaxy. The man started taking pictures. Chelsea here, Chelsea here. And L.A. Galaxy, but that earned only a shrug. But then he had to deal with the loss of Maria Sharapova. I saw a bit of disappointment that he had already expressed over Sharapova’s loss Saturday night. So the stink was twofold, but the young woman and the older man seemed most disappointed that they couldn’t see a soccer match. Euro football, right? they kept asking. Right they were. Just not tonight.
Click here for video of the complete postgame reaction from Sharapova.
-- Diane Pucin