The Kevin Sheehan Show - How & Why Rafa Is Coming To DC

Episode Date: July 13, 2021

Kevin opened with some HR Derby talk before getting to some follow up on the Jason Wright conversation from yesterday. Washington Kastles and Citi Open owner Mark Ein joined the show for a conversation about how he got Rafael Nadal to come to DC later this month to play in his tournament. They discussed the state of tennis, the Washington Football Team's ownership, and a lot more as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Chean Show. Here's Kevin. We have a guest scheduled on the show today coming up in just a few minutes. Mark Eind, one of the real successful entrepreneurs in the history of this city. He's the owner of the Washington Castles.

He owns the City Open. He is the man responsible for bringing Rafa to the City Open on July 31st, later this month for the City Open tennis tournament. Mark's an interesting guy. It's been years since I've talked to Mark, had him on the radio show a couple of times years ago, but it'll be good to catch up with him and get how this happened and what's sort of in the offing. Who else will be there to play against Rafa at the end of the month? So we'll do that with him.

I wanted to start with the home run derby last night. I really enjoyed it. I usually don't enjoy those things, but I enjoyed the home run derby. First of all, the Otani show was really the reason you probably had a decent television audience. I'm guessing. I've not seen the TV numbers yet on this, but I'm assuming that they did pretty well last night with Otani making his debut in the home run derby. And then I think the All-Star game tonight will probably do pretty well also. but the showdown between Soto and Otani was really dramatic.

Soto takes them out in the first round after they tie at 22-22. Then they go to extras using soccer jargon, extra time. They're still tied after extra time, and they go to penalty kicks. The best of three swings. And Soto goes yard on all three of them. And Otani's first swing is into the dirt with a ground ball. He's out and Soto moved on where he was eventually beaten by the eventual winner, Pete Alonzo, who by the way wins it for a second straight time.

And I will tell you that I think as exciting as the Soto Otani moment was, I think watching Alonzo last night was unbelievable. It's funny because right before the derby started last night, there was nothing on television. And remember, you know, tonight and tomorrow night and then Wednesday night really are the slowest typically in a normal year on a normal sports calendar. They're the slowest nights of the year. The Wednesday after the All-Star game is the one night every year, not this year, because of the NBA finals still going on. But it's the one day out of every year where there is no sporting event of the four major professional sports. It's the only day of the year that there's no football game, no hockey game, no basketball game, no baseball game. And that's pretty amazing that that is the one night of the year that you don't have that.

But not this year because the NBA finals resume tomorrow night. And then baseball picks up on Thursday night. I think there's one game. I think Red Sox Yankees are on Thursday night. And then everybody else is back at it on Friday. By the way, the Nats open up a three-game homestand out of the All-Star break against the San Diego Padres. Not an easy way to start the second half of the season when you limped into the end of the first half. And by the way, technically, we're beyond the first half.

You know, the Nats are 42 and 47. They played 89 games. They played eight games more than half of their schedule. But they come out after that, you know, brutal stretch of four losses in a row, nine losses in their last. 11 with three more against a great opponent in the Padres before this schedule lightens up a little bit with the Marlins who have actually been playing better. Then they get a set with the Orioles at Camden Yards and then a big set with Philadelphia who's in front of them in the standings right now. In fact, they play eight games against the Phillies between I think the last week of July and the end

of the first week of August. Anyway, I enjoyed the home run derby in a long Lonzo was amazing. Right before it started last night with no other sports on, my intention was to watch it. And I had my youngest son at home and he's like, let's watch the home run derby. I'm like, sure, why not? Let's see what Otani does. And because he was matched up against Soto in the first round, you know, there was intrigued there. Well, right before the broadcast, I guess in the pre-home run derby show, Jessica Mendoza is her name. She's been, you know, on the Sunday night ESPN Tally. telecast with Kirchen and others, and part of that for a while. I think she does a really good job.

She was asked by whomever it was that was anchoring and said, oh, Alonzo is going to win this. He's the one that wants it badly and has a strategy and has the experience. And I don't know what it is about the way she pitched Pete Alonzo, but it literally sold me. and I was just about to lob in on Pete Alonzo at plus 500 to win it. Otani was the favorite at plus 240. And then Alonzo was at like plus 500. I didn't do it. And I think I just said to myself, good God, if you bet on the home run derby, you really have an issue.

So I decided to pass on it, but I shouldn't have. He was clearly the best. But it was entertaining. And the All-Star game tonight, especially with Scherzer, starting, will be, you know, a decent watch as well. I'm not big into these derbies. I'm not big into All-Star Saturday night in the NBA. Not into that at all. But, yeah, I enjoyed that last night.

There are three other things I wanted to get to quickly before we have a conversation with Mark I. Number one is today is the one-year anniversary of the Washington Redskins officially retiring the Redskins name and deciding to move on from it. And it was 10 days after that, July 23rd, that they announced that they would be calling themselves the Washington football team for the 2020 season. It's amazing that a year has gone by that quickly. but there was so much other stuff that came after the name news, which really was in so many ways the bombshell for the hardcore, long-time football fan in most of us. But it was just a couple of days later that we had the Washington Post report, alleging that 15 women had endured sexual harassment.

Then there would be another post story to come. And then Snyder started making claims against former employees like Mary Ellen Blair and some of his minority shareholders, including Dwight Schar. And it just was one thing after another. They hired the team president, Jason Wright. Then Rivera was diagnosed with cancer. And then Alex Smith was kept on the team. And then Haskins started the season and was benched. And it was just one thing after another.

It was really an incredible news year for the Washington football team that actually ended amazingly with a division title and a playoff game at home against the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And even in the offseason, right? You know, it's been more stories, Alex Smith's news of being released. I didn't even mention, you know, in the late season, about Dwayne Haskins being cut. You know, the addition of Mayhew and Herney, just one big thing after another, then getting into free agency and signing Ryan Fitzpatrick,

and then Snyder buying out his minority shareholders, and then the Wilkinson stuff, and Snyder, you know, suing Bruce Allen. And it was just, it was one thing after another. It's been a busy, busy year in the history of this team. One we're going to look back on and just be amazed at how much, we were able to digest. Ultimately, as I said yesterday, as it relates to the team president's

statement yesterday, it's still about football for most of us. And the bottom line is a lot of us have had a lot of fandom sucked out of us over the last two decades. And, you know, when we hear anything that isn't football related, it's just a reminder that over the last two decades, two decades, excuse me, this franchise has never been football focused. It's always been about other things. You know, and that reminds me, and I wanted to clear something up from yesterday. When we were talking about Jason Wright's interview with Nikki from Nikki Javala from the Washington Post, and I told you how sort of off-putting, I thought it was that one of the quotes in there was him saying that he wanted Washington to be the gold standard as a sports

media and entertainment company. I'm paraphrasing there, but I don't have it in front of me, but I just said this is another guy that's coming in and not getting it, that, you know, this is the problem with this organization. It's always about everything other than football and winning on the football field. You know, we know Bruce, one of Bruce Allen's all-time, you know, blundered lines. We are winning off the field. Well, no one wants to hear about you winning off the field, especially when you suck so bad on it. And nobody wants to wants to hear about sports media and entertainment aspirations. They want to hear about going 14 and three, winning the division, having the one seat and going to the Super Bowl. You know, this is the

priority and should be the priority and is the priority for all of the great franchises. Washington is not one of them. But I thought about it to a certain degree, and it's unfair to sort of put the football thing on Jason Wright. That's not why he's been brought into the organization. The day he was hired, I said on this podcast, this is awesome and hopefully it works out for him. But the bottom line, he's got a job that's totally dependent on Ron Rivera and the football team. Because if the football team doesn't win, he's not going to increase revenue and profitability, period. And, you know, he's acknowledged and admitted he has no say in the football operation. He is solely here to change the business practices and hopefully the business results.

But revenue depends on the football results. So when he is interviewed by Nikki for this article in the post, he's really speaking to mostly business. Now, I don't want to say it's tone deaf because I don't think it is. I think he's asked the questions and he's answered them. But, you know, I think it's one of those things where we know when anybody from the organization talks, about becoming, you know, a gold standard media and entertainment company, it reeks of same old, same old. But again, his job is to figure out, believe it or not, how to build a business that is losing resilient. Think about that. Think about what I just said. He's got to build a business

that if the core of the business, the main product of the business loses, somehow they still gain from a business standpoint. That is quite the challenge. Wish him the best of luck with that. Ultimately, I think at its core, this is a football organization. The Dallas Cowboys are an example of an organization that's done very well outside of football, but it's a different organization Dallas is. Dallas has a much more national, if not international fan base.

The team has won more than Washington has, even though it hasn't won a lot. And in many ways, Washington's the low-rent version and has been the low-rent version of Dallas. Think what you want of Jerry. Jerry is much more respected around the league than Dan Snyder. for whatever you think of Jerry. Jerry is a Hall of Famer. I don't think you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame personally, but whatever. He is a Hall of Fame owner, and the franchise has been a very, very big success for the league,

despite the lack of productivity on the field. They are probably the lone example of a team in the league that can thrive without consistent winning. from a business standpoint. I don't know that Washington can do it. Clearly, they haven't. Other than the TV revenue, the 132nd of the TV revenue that everybody gets a cut of,

which is why none of these NFL teams will ever go out of business. There's always the television money safety net. But I think Jason Wright has one hell of a challenge. One last thing before we get to Mark Ine, Jeremy Fowler's been doing this ranking of position groups on ESPN.com using a survey of more than 50 league executives, coaches, scouts, and players to rank position groups one through 10 with honorable mentions.

I think I mentioned last week that Chase Young was seventh on the list of edge pass rushers. Well, today he did a running back list. And I was thinking, you know, about the division and about the various position groups. you know, this is a very talented division at running back. You have Sequin Barclay coming back in New York. He is number six on this list of running backs. By the way, the top five were Derek Henry, Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, Nick Chubb, and Christian McCaffrey. You know, assuming McCaffrey is back, assuming Saquan Barkley is back and healthy. He's number six on this list. By the way, he was number one on the last year. Zeke Elliott is seventh on the list. Last year he was third. And then honorable

mention is Miles Sanders in Philadelphia. I think sometimes he gets overlooked in this division. He's a very good back. Miles Sanders can really, really run another Penn State guy. You know, in his first two years, he's averaged five yards per carry. He averaged 5.3 yards per carry as a rookie with 164 attempts. And last year in his second year, I'm sorry, last year he averaged 5.3 yards per carry, his second year on 164 attempts, got hurt, missed a couple of games. His rookie year, he averaged 4.6 yards per carry. He's a really good back. And then you have Antonio Gibson, who I think we all have high hopes for. It's a hell of a running back division. You know, the bottom line with this division, we can compare a position. We can compare a position

group to position group coaching staff to coaching staff, it's going to come down to quarterback play. Dallas has a quarterback in Dak Prescott that many believe when he's healthy is a borderline top 10 guy. No other quarterback in the division even sniffes that level. But if any one of the other three, Daniel Jones, Ryan Fitzpatrick or Jalen Hertz, if they sniff the top half of the league, you know, top 16, top 15 in terms of performance this year, their teams are going to do much better than sort of the national odds makers believe they'll do. Obviously, Washington is the second pick, and there have been a lot of people that have been excited about the prospects for them this year, but the bottom line is

quarterback play will determine this division. Health and quarterback play will determine this division. Mark Eind will be my guest right after these words from a few of our sponsors. We welcome in Mark Eyn to the podcast. Mark is really one of the most successful entrepreneurs from the area. Grew up in Bethesda, a BCC guy. I got a bit of an issue with that as a Whitman guy, but we'll coexist here for the next 20 minutes or so. But I've had conversations here and there over the years with Mark about tennis

because he's always been into tennis. He owns the Washington Castles. He owns the City Open. And I reached out to you because I, I thought it was just amazing that this tournament attracted Rafa, and I think it's going to be a big deal in this town. In fact, on the radio show this morning, Mark, I guessed that this will be the toughest ticket to get for a DC sporting event since the World Series.

Part of that is, you know, the size of the Fitzgerald Center. You know, what does it hold? $7,500,000, something like that. And I think it's going to be 50% capacity. but this is going to be a very difficult ticket to get. By the way, how are you? And congratulations on attracting Rafa. Well, thank you, and it's great to be here despite the fact that you went to Whitman.

And now it's great for all of us who grew up in the area to come back and kind of make our own way and our own community. And it's always fun to talk to another native. Yeah, it's going to be an extraordinary summer. and what you just said is validated if you look on the ticket retail site. Tickets are going for thousands of dollars. We are working hard to potentially increase the capacity. And so I'm hopeful that the powers of the – like, I think they want to help.

They definitely want to help. And so I am hopeful that we'll be able to get some more people to come in because just the flood of calls and emails and tax of people who really want to bring their kids to come, I think has touched everyone. So hopefully we'll have some good news. I think it'll still be the hardest ticket since the World Series, but we'll be able to get more of the people in the sand. I mean, there's nothing available on the aftermarket sites.

Like, I'm just checking right now. And if there is something available, the prices are outrageous. You know, my wife, who is not a sports fan, like I'm married to, a person who essentially the next time she listens to my radio show or podcast will be the first time. She thinks the whole conversation about sports like it. I've got three boys. She's gotten used to it over the years, but she thinks it's a waste of time, but she sent me a text. And she said, I want to see Rafa Nadal. You got to get tickets. And I'm like, this isn't going to be an easy one. But I do want to know how it came about. I want to have a conversation with you about tennis.

and the state of the sport in this country. But how did you get him to come here? How does something like that work? Yeah. So, look, we've laid the groundwork since we took this over in 2019 to make this an event that the best players in the world would want to come to. It is the fifth biggest tennis tournament in the United States. It is one of the 25 biggest tournaments in the world.

I don't think people fully appreciate that. It's a very meaningful tournament in terms of prize money and ranking points. And over the years, and by the way, and it's been in our community for 52 years since Arthur Ash and Donald Dell and John Harris started. I was a ball boy in the late 70s. I was a at the Washington Star on Clay. And there was a Harold Solomon match that I remember. And there was a Conner's match that I remember. But go ahead.

Absolutely. And I did the finals with Jimmy Connors and Victor Petty in Girmobil. Wow. And Fred McNair from Columbia Country Club, who was number one in the world and doubles, our local heroes. So, yeah, those were the days. And it's been there. It's the longest running tournament in the United States at the same site. So it is a storied event.

It's a very significant event. The reality is that it needed, gosh, it needed an investment. It needed a correct set of eyes. It needed a little bit of vision. And, you know, when it was frankly likely going to be. move out of Washington and out of our community. And when I heard that, I just said, this has mattered so much, not just to me, but so many, truly millions of people over five decades in our community that I got to do

whatever I can to save it. And fortunately, it came together. We did it. And we invested heavily, heavily in the tournament in 19, even through last year when we didn't play. And as part of that, Kevin, we went to all the top players and told them about the tournament and said it's something you should consider playing in. And if you think about it for in the last couple years,

you know, we had Alexander Ziberov win it a couple years. Del Potra won at Nishikori. So we've had top players win it. And then in 19, our final was Nick Kiroz beating Daniel Medvedev, who's now number two in the world. And that tournament marked the beginning of his assent. And the semifinals had Stefano 50 pass and Marin Chillich, who won the U.S. Open.

Yeah. The past just made. So, like, we've always had these top players, and we wanted to get the word out that you should, come and you should do this. And so we laid the groundwork, and then Raffa was looking at the schedule. He skipped Wimbledon. He's skipping the Olympics.

Obviously now, what's really exciting is with Djokovic winning the Wimbledon, there's three guys tied it. The record for 20 grand slams. And so everyone's figuring out, how do I best prepare for the U.S. Open to figure out who's going to take the lead? And Rafa decided that coming to Washington

was how he wanted to prepare. And he called us. We were obviously thrilled. You'll appreciate this, Kevin, because I said, in addition to whatever he needs to compete, I said, he's never been to Washington, actually. He's never been to the city. I said, I want to do whatever to let him show the city and make it a great experience. And his representative said, if he comes, he's coming to win the tournament, not to see the city. I think I love that guy. So, and so, I mean, that's why I love and admire, all three of them, but Rapa is, you know, is unique in that way.

And so they, you know, they called last week and confirmed it. He's been training. He's in good shape, and he's thrilled to come. So this will be his return since playing at the French. He's not going to play before that. And I'm assuming it'll be part of his working towards and tuning up for the open. Yeah, and I don't think, I mean, when Rafa comes, he doesn't come to tune up or play a few matches. He comes, as he said, to win the tournament.

I'm easier to win the tournament. And he, you know, he plays this level of events, the 500s all, you know, all the time, and he usually wins them. So the ideas play here. I have a sense of the rest of his schedule. I don't know if he's announced it. He'll play another tournament and then play the U.S. Open. And, yeah, this will be his first competitive matches on the road to hopefully the all-time record.

All right. So you've touched on a lot there. And I'm just going to up front say. that I'm sure I got a lot wrong on the radio show the other day or on the podcast. I'm sorry, with Tommy because Mark reached out to me and he said, you know, I'd love to come on. I'd love to update you because obviously we were winging it. And look, here has been my perception and you have changed it and I've done a lot of reading over the weekend that obviously changed it. I, you know, I remember growing up, you know, not only being a ballboy that one summer,

but going to this tournament because I love tennis, I played tennis. I had a lot of, you know, people in my life that were into tennis. So every summer, you know, we hooked it down to 16th in Kennedy for at least a night or two to watch the tournament. And I remember the tournament from, you know, going from a Clay Court tournament with a lot of South American, you know, players to the hard. hard court tournament in the 80s that started to attract all the guys as a lead up to the open. I remember going to seeing Becker and seeing Lendell so many times and seeing Connors and seeing

McEnroe and other players during that era. And then Agassie was a mainstay, you know, as was Chang, if I recall, and others, you know, during the 90s. But, you know, the truth is, Mark, in recent years, and I think it coincides. with sort of tennis in general. My interest in tennis has waned. I used to be a massive tennis fan. I can go back and tell you about, you know,

Super Saturday at the open in 84 with the three matches that went the distance, you know, with Cash and Lendell and then Martina and Chrissy and Connors and McEnroe and the thing ended at 1130 at night. I was up early Sunday mornings for McEnroe Borg and 80 and 81. Like I remember all that stuff and I was so into it, but I'm not as much anymore.

And I think the country as a whole, obviously, it's not nearly as popular of a sport. So I apologize for not being totally up to speed. And when you said it's the fifth largest tournament in the U.S., is that prize money based? Everything, attendance, prize money, quality of field. It's all, yeah, there's the U.S. Open, which is a grand slam. There's three what's called 1,000 events,

which are Miami, Indian Weldon. Cincinnati, big events, and then we're the one 500-level event in the United States. Yeah, and so, I mean, by the way, the one thing, and I talked about it on radio, and I think we mentioned it on the podcast, I've always known that we have here in D.C. a real serious and passionate tennis community. We always have. You know, we've produced a lot of really good players over the years, and now we've got the College Park facility that's, you know, produced Francis Tiafo and maybe more to come. And I know how passionate the tennis community is.

But tell me about, and I want to circle back to Rafa in the field that will be here waiting Rafa, you know, at Fitzgerald Tennis Center. But you were a player. I mean, Mark was, I remember the last time we probably talked, you were like ranked 400th in the world and doubles still at like 40-something years old, right? Yeah, it was actually like 900. Whatever, come on. And, yeah, I said, I should take 400. You know, and the funny thing is, is actually my prize money check, I decided to frame instead of cash.

I'd rather have it as a momento than the cash in the bank. But, yeah, I later in life got into a bunch of pro tournaments and doubles, and we won a couple matches. And one in Cancun, Mexico, and one in Calabas of California, but I went to X amount. Ecuador and Kentucky. It was great fun. Who was your partner? To be out there, it was like the George, a bunch of different guys. A guy named Kevin Kim was a friend of mine, and we played together for a bunch of them, and then a couple different people in Lexington.

But it was a little bit of a, like, maybe more serious George Clinton moment. Remember George Clinton used to get out and play quarterback? No, but you were better than Plimpton. You were a real tennis player. Yeah, yeah, no, I can play. I mean, I can, you know, especially doubles, no problem. and, you know, we were competitive in a lot of these matches. And but just to be out there and experiencing it, you know, and training and then being on the court with such a special experience.

I'll tell you, as great as it was, and I loved every minute of it. When it was done, I was very happy to get back to my day job and something that I'm really good at. So, but it gives you a great appreciation to get a chance to be on the court with some of the best players in the world. and, yeah, and so, look, this tournament really, and what you said about the arc of your interest in tennis is not different from a lot of people in the United States. You know, the heyday of tennis with Connors and McEnrella and Courier and Chang generated a huge amount of interest,

and then, and then for a bunch of years it had a bit less, I will say on the women's side, because it really is the preeminent women's sport and so many great athletes, Venus and Serena, and, you know, Graff and Hingis, and just so many of them that it's strong on the women's side. But in recent years, this is the golden age of tennis. I mean, it's mind-boggling to think at the same time,

three guys could each tie the record for the most. And they're both, they're so different, and they're so extraordinary in their own unique ways as people. And we've now really, like, feel like we know them because we've watched them for hours in Grand Flam finals. And so it's a golden age. What's really exciting, Kevin, we should talk about the rest of the field at the City Open, is this next generation is also super compelling.

Like there's a whole set of next generation players who are coming up, who are amazing players, super towns, also have great personalities, know how to engage in social media. And so the result of all this, plus the fact that tennis is the ultimate social distance sport is that tennis by a mile had its best year in 2020, with participation grown 22% in the United States, which is mind-boggling. Like sports in general, and I was on the USDA board for six years, and tennis was flat to up 1% in participation. Most sports were down because people are at home, like, watching social media and playing

video games, not out playing sports. So we were kind of on a relative basis being up a little bit was pretty good, but up 22% is a game changer. It's the biggest increase since the 70s. Well, was it pandemic driven? Because it got people out just outside to play a sport? where you were naturally socially distanced? It is.

That is the catalyst. And so when you go to tennis clubs that used to be half full, they're packed all the time. You can't get on the court. You can go to any of them. They're all like that everywhere. And that's exciting. But, you know, one of the things I believe in Kevin,

and it's one of my motivations for doing the castles and now the city open is I believe there's a virtuous cycle of participation and watching as a fan. And I believe that the more people play, the more they want to go out and watch it, the more they watch it, the more they want to go out and play, and it feeds off itself. And, you know, one of the things that got me thinking about this, and again, is a native, you can appreciate it.

When you and I were kids in Chevy Chase and Bethesda, no one really played hockey. Very few people played hockey. But now with the cap selling out the stadium for a decade, there's a massive short of ice skating rinks. Everyone's playing hockey. We've seen that here, the Ovetchkin effect. Well, the same thing. happens in tennis. I've had so many families and people come to me after Castle's matches and say what you said. I haven't played tennis a while. I came to a match. I want to go play. Then they go

play and then they come watch. And so, and Arthur Ash knew this. And it was one of the reasons he wanted to start a tournament. He wanted it in a public park was because he knew that there's nothing like that moment where a kid gets to see someone up close and it aspires them and they aspire to be them. And so really at the core, my motivation for doing this and hopefully doing a really good job at it is that it'll help grow the sport and touch a lot of people in our town. Yeah, you know, it's funny because I didn't consider what the pandemic may have done to the sport. You know, I didn't grow up in a country club, you know, and have that access. I was one of those people standing in line waiting for the on the hour switch for the public courts, which, you know, even, even now when you drive by, they're empty, right?

I mean, I, it's not what, there was a craze in this country in the 70s, 80s, and probably into the 90s, where you would have to wait to get onto a public tennis court. I mean, there would be cars and people waiting and arguments. You and I the same. Yeah. Candy cane city, Rocky, Coddy Crosch. That's where I learned. Well, my, of course.

And then you had all the lit, you know, lit courts at Cabin John. know, and then lots of courts like, you know, at schools, at elementary schools and high schools and middle schools. But it is, it's so ironic because while this sport, I think you would agree that the popularity, even with the increase, is nowhere near where it used to be. Yet, around the globe, it's still wildly popular. And we have, as you described, we've been living through the greatest era in the history of the sport. Three guys, with 20 grand slams, and Sampras is fourth now, six short of the three at the top. I mean, and yet I think America has sort of slept on this to a certain degree.

Do you agree or disagree? I think generally it's true that tennis is way more popular in other places in the world, and people follow it more avidly. I think grand slams are still popular in the United States. The top players are well known. and look at their social media follows. You know, something like, I think there's been a hundred top ten highest paid female athletes in some list, Fortune, or something over the last decade.

And something like 91 of them are tennis players. And on the men's side, three of the top ten, and why is that? Because the platform that these guys and women have is unmatched. In fact, Kevin, I think about this all the time. I don't think there's any comparable in sports or maybe anywhere to the exposure an individual has who's playing in the finals of grand slams on a regular basis. It's you. There's no faith mask.

There may be no hat. It's just you and one other person for three or four hours to a global TV audience. And now we've seen these guys do it 30 times. There's nothing else like that in sports where individuals get that kind of exposure. So it translates into these massive platforms, both economically and everything else. And so I do think that has hit the United States, and that's why your wife called you and wanted Rafa tickets, because he is an icon. He's one of those people in the world who have a one word name, right? You say Rafa, you know what it is.

And whether that's in, you know, the United States or anyone in the world, he is Rafa and he is Roger and he is Novak. And they are Serena and they are Venus. And so at the top, it still is immensely popular. What we need to do in the States and what I'm really focused on doing in our community is making sure that people, follow it more than, you know, follow it throughout the year. Well, you know, what you said about tennis is something that, you know, anybody that's ever really followed sports and been into sort of the business of sports has already, has always understood, you know, golfers and tennis players, you know, tennis players in particular, you know, it's what Donald Dell and, you know, before him,

I guess, Arnold Palmer's guy, McCormick, right? Mark McCormick. What they all realized is that the the actual exposure, the facial exposure, for hours upon hours, close-ups, tight shots, the whole thing. It made for a much more endorseable athlete. And that's why Rafa and Federer and Jokovic and Serena and Naomi Osaka to a wild extent are always among the highest paid and endorsed athletes on the planet year and year out. By the way, I'm just curious. Like, in this era of the greatest tennis in history, you've probably been all over it and watched every match.

And you're right. I do watch the Grand Slambs. I watched Sunday morning. Did not watch Saturday morning. I think if Kerber had been in the final, I would have watched Saturday morning. But I, who do you think, did Djokovic take a step on Sunday?

Did he take that step to being, I don't want to say the frontrunner, but a lot of people will now start to say, especially with the multi-surface, that he's the greatest player in the history of the game. Are you ready to take that leap? I think it will, in the end, it will be proven that he will have the most grand plans,

and he'll lay claim to that. Now, what's tricky about it is, and his head-to-head record is superior. Right. And as you said, the multi-surface, what's tricky about it is he didn't hit, Roger at his peak, right? So Rogers' peak came earlier. So that's not exactly a fair comparison. And by the way, you know what I kept thinking about since Sunday is Rogers' two match points in

2019 against Novak, including like a pretty easy forehand that he missed in the finals of Wimbledon. And if he does that, it's 21 Roger 19 Novak right now. If he literally makes that forehand. I mean, think about that. It sounds like you're more of a Federer fan. No, I just, I love history, and I actually just am fascinated by how little things become big things. And look, I think they're all unique in their personalities. I do think that because he came third, that Novak has been a bit overshadowed on sort of a presence basis, and Roger's his guy and Rob is his guy, and they're both extraordinary, but contrasting extraordinary. And then Novak's just different, you know, but Novak's also an amazing guy.

a lot of great things. And I think he's going to have his moment in the sun to be the face of the sport here for the next couple years. Yet, I think that of the three, clearly, he has

the lesser of the passionate fan bases. And I'm curious as to why you think that is. Well, I think he came third. I mean, he's, I mean, he's always been in their shadows. Like, people are like, oh, well, Novak now is the best. Like, I mean, look at

he's been winning. Well, McEnroe came after Borgon and Connors, but he had personality. Yeah. I mean, Novak has a different personality. Again, they're all different. Roger is the most elegant, one of the most elegant athletes in history. Rafa has grit and fight that's like nothing you've ever seen and, you know, match with a humility that's pretty extraordinary. And, And, you know, Novak's just an all-around, and he's a fighter. I mean, he grew up in war-torn Serbia, you know, playing in the bottom of a pool that didn't have water on it. And so that's it. But he's also become a leader in the sport, and he has a presence, and he's a very spiritual guy.

I do think that part of it is it's just harder for him to find his lane because these guys are still around, you know, and he just hasn't had it. What's going to happen here sometime soon is one or two of the other guys will peel off, and he's going to be the guy, and I think, you know, he'll rise in terms of his presence in the world. And it's already big. There's a ton of huge Novak fans all over the world. It's just he's competing with two of the most famous and beloved athletes in history in his own sport. It's an interesting sport, too, in that, you know, there was a time in which 25 was old. And now Rogers on the verge of turning 40.

Novak's probably in his, you know, early to mid-30s. Nidal is, what, 35? 36? Yep. And here... 3 and 37, 37, 38. Yes, so it's, the sport has changed. Obviously, you know, fitness and nutrition and all of that, you know, contributes.

But, I mean, Borg was done at 25, retired. McEnroe because he didn't work out and didn't practice. And by the way, he's my all-time favorite athlete. His career was cut significantly short. And it was always the young and up-and-comers that would take these guys out. in their late 20s. You know, Sampras, you know, knocked out McEnroe in the U.S. Open when he made a run in 91 or whatever it was,

and Sampris was 19, and now the sport is reversed. It's weird, right? It totally. I mean, a lot of it is fitness and people's ability to prolong their careers and their bodies, but you know what I think is it sort of the underpinnings of this? One of the most fascinating things I ever heard of tennis players say with Thomas Burdick, the Czech guy, He was the final of the Wimbledon, and he got off the court.

He had lost. And in the interview right afterwards, he said, you know, I've made so much progress. I'm so happy with my game. He said, I'm finally at the point where I can actually concentrate for an entire match and not have lapses. And, you know, he said that is like that was the breakthrough. So the breakthrough for all these people is not when you hit a foreigner back and none of it. Because the reality is it's probably 50 pass can hit a better groundstroke than any of these guys. It's how well can you concentrate for this grueling.

three, four, five-hour match. How well can you play in those key moments? And that's what these guys who have the most experience and are legends, that's what that's the difference. That's the entire difference. And it's why that even though the up-and-coming players may be more

athletic and stronger and faster and everything else, they lose because in those moments, the top guys rise and they don't have as many down moments. They keep their level longer than the other guys. It's interesting sports in general, and I've talked about the NBA many times in the past. The NBA in many ways is an old man's sport. I mean, you have to,

you have to lose before you can win. Obviously, we're seeing a unique finals this year, but for the most part, older teams, guys that are physically mature, you know, more than a 19, 20, 21, 22 year old, and more importantly, really understand the game. And by the way, you know, don't get to the point where, you know, they don't know what to do next. And tennis is sort of the same way. And, you know, we just saw Phil Mickelson, you know, win the PGA Championship at 50 years old. By the way, you mentioned that there are some really exciting up-and-coming Americans in men's tennis. You know, I watched some of Wimbledon and I saw, you know, Peter Cortes' son playing well.

Is he one of the, like, who are the guys that legitimately, Mark, have a chance to be a number one kind of a player win Grand Slams, which it's been a long time since anybody other than the big three of won Grand Slams. But hell, I mean, was the last American to win a Grand Slam Roddx U.S. Open? Yeah, it was. It was. Right. It was.

On the men's side, obviously. Right. Naomi and Serena, and there's been a bunch on the women's side and Kenan. I mean, on the women's side, we've had a lot on the men's side. It's Andy. Yeah. Yeah, so, look, there's, and coming this summer to the city open, there's, we did a poster and we had 16 spots, and we really were struggling to figure out who to exclude because

there were so many, if you know, the sport, and even if you don't, so many great players coming. In terms of American tennis, yeah, Sebastian Cordo, I think, really good. You know, Taylor Fritz is really good. Raleo Pous is good. Francis is really good. You know, will any one of them be number one in the world? That remains to be seen.

You know, I think we all just want them in the final weekend of Grand Plans. That would be a good thing, and that's the next step. But outside of them, in Canada, you have Dennis Chapabaloff who made the Semis of Wimbledon. He's coming. Felix OJ. Aliasim, amazing guy. He could be number one in the world. He's working. He's coming.

And his coach is Robb's uncle, Uncle Tony. And then we have Nick Kiroos coming back, and I will say that's really a part of what this tournament now is, is the experience we had with Nick in 2019. I mean, the highlights of that week are still shown endlessly on social media and other tennis sites because it was so amazing what he did and the spirit in which he did it. you know, he went before Matt's point in his last three matches into the stands and asked the fan where to serve and then did it and won the match, including in the finals. And 15 minutes before, well, he did this every match, but 15 minutes before the finals, he was playing ping pong with the ball kids in the player area. And Nick, Nick won the tournament in Nick's way, and he loved this tournament. It was one of the best weeks of his life, so he's coming back, all these other guys. And then we have like, you know, K. Nishikori and Nelis Rown that you've won the tournament are coming back.

And it just literally goes on and on and on. And I still think we have still four or five wildcards to give. I have a feeling there's going to be some even some additional big players coming. And so whether it's Rapa there or any of these other players, every day is going to be amazing this summer at the city open. And just literally now in three weeks. All right. Stay right there, Mark. We're going to take a quick break.

And when we come back, I will ask you whether or not there's a chance that we get more than Rafa. Would Fed or Jokovic be interested in coming and playing in this tournament now that Rafa's here? We'll do that. And you'll answer that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Mark Eind, joining us on the podcast. Mark is the owner of the Washington Castles. He owns the City Open. he's the man responsible for bringing Rafa Nadal to town beginning on July 31st.

So is there any chance that Fed or Jokovic would come? Not this year. I mean, not this year. But, well, maybe I shouldn't say never. I mean, you know, Novak just said he may not go to Tokyo. So I don't know if he decides that he's not going to Tokyo. Would he decide to come? Maybe.

I mean, I guess that's possible, but we haven't had any discussions with them. But there's a lot of other really top players who are waiting to see if they go to Tokyo and if they, or if they lose in Tokyo and they want to come. So I'm pretty sure we'll get a couple additional big players. But frankly, I'm more worried about how do we get more fans than to see who we've got than figuring out who else to bring at the moment. Yeah, well, it's going to be quite a week. And I know one of the things that I said on the podcast, because whenever I do talk about this tournament that I am familiar with over the years, you know, having been a fan of it and gone to it so many times, is I do know, and I don't think you could refute this, that if you get one of those weeks in our city where it's oppressive 97 degrees, you know, 95% humidity.

this is something that always becomes part of the conversation with players in the past and and you know reasons that players have passed on this tournament in the past right yeah i mean i think when you and i were ball kids it was different because the matches were like you and i were out there at one in the afternoon and they realized i don't know if it was 10 15 years ago we should start playing at four so so so so that is a huge improvement there's more match courts. So we're not playing in the middle of the day other than qualifying. And actually the semis are late, you know, still not at noon, but in the afternoon. So, so most matches at night. And then, you know, Kevin, I had that same experience, frankly, as a fan. And so one of

the things we did in 19, for the first time, we built a massive air-conditioned food hall. And we brought in some of the best restaurants and alcohol partners to create this fantastic indoor area that fans could come and get out of the sun, which they never had. VIP's had that, but General Fans didn't. And so we have this thing called Market Square, and we have, like, Duke's Grocery and Tulsa Ice Cream and Mama Fuku. And so that, I think, was something that fans really appreciated that was a long time coming at the event. So, you know, if you get one of those hot days, there's a place to go where you can cool off and have good food. Well, Duke's grocery has a hell of a burger. So hopefully you have that on the menu.

Maybe Jose's helping you a little bit with the food as well. I wish, oh, you know what? I was curious. So what happened to the women's tournament? Yeah, so when we got the men's event, the women's event was rented. It was a sanction that was leased from another company called Octagon, and they decided that there's this woman,

Ego Swatak, who's a top person who's from Poland, and they wanted to have a tournament in Poland, so they moved it to Poland, which it was really disappointing to us, and I really want to bring a full women's tournament back, and I have a deep commitment to women's tennis. That's really what we've highlighted at the castles more than anyone with being a Serena, Martinez. We had Naomi Osaka, and so we're doing a women's invitational this year, which is going to be amazing. We have Cocoa Golf, the Australian Open finalist, Jen, Brady, our 2019 champion, Jess Pagool, and one more player. So we're going to highlight some of the best women in the world with Coco,

who's becoming another one-word icon. It's great. Over time, I'd love to figure out a way to get a full women's tournament back, and we're talking to a lot of people, and hopefully we'll solve for it. But until then, I actually think the format of what we're going to do this summer is going to be great, and people can see some of the best women in the world at the city open. I remember some of those tournaments at the Smith Center, and, you know,

because there was an event that came through. They played it at Mason a couple of years. Totally. You know, at the Patriot Center. And you just met... You know, that tournament at GW, gosh, I didn't know my parents knew, but I was a ball kid at the event.

And it actually killed my GPA that year because I kind of skipped school for a week to go be a bucket. Right, because it wasn't during the summer. Yeah. Right. Exactly. By the way, you just mentioned Jess Pagula, and I just looked it up.

She won the last event here. Is that, and I don't know this, the answer to this, is that the Buffalo Bills owner's daughter? It is. Okay. It is. So Terry Pagoolin, I forget Terry's wife's name, but they're co-owners. Yep.

And they own the Sabres. But, you know, look, she's an amazing player in her own right. And by the way, Kevin, that's another one where her breakthrough. That was her first victory. I don't remember what she was ranked when she won this two years ago, but it's probably in the 60s, 50, 60, 70s. She's now like 22 in the world. She's had a ton of top wins.

That tournament was a huge couch, just like it was for Medvedev. And it was interesting. She kept posting that she was sorry she couldn't come back to defend her championship in D.C. Because we didn't have an event last year because it meant so much to her. And so we're thrilled to have her. And, yeah, she does come from an amazing family, but in and of her, in her own right, she's becoming a really extraordinary player. And she's an extraordinary person who's similarly humble and fights hard.

And it's just a really impressive person. Best of luck. I actually, this time, truly one last question. And it has nothing to do with the tournament or anything else. So I'm just curious, you know, for you as a sports owner, you own, you know, the Washington castles. you're one of the sports owners in town. You know, over the last year with the issues that Dan Snyders had

and the investigation that was ongoing with Beth Wilkinson, et cetera, and all of the, you know, hypotheticals about would he be forced to sell the team and, you know, will he be taking on new investors or, you know, will the minority investors be bought out by him or other people? I'm curious. If the football team ever became available, would you, Do A, be interested and B, be capable of, like, putting together a group to buy it? Well, I don't think that's ever going to happen.

Look, I ended up doing the city open because I was a ball kid like you, and it was such an important part of my life. And it was, I don't want to say once in a lifetime opportunity, but it was an extraordinary life opportunity, and I'm so grateful I have the chance to do that. Similarly, the Redskins were a massive part of growing up. And, you know, I didn't have the ability, but I was in and around looking at it when it came up. So, you know, when Dan did it.

And, you know, I wish that, I wish it was at a time, which would be more like now where I could put together something. Because how could you not as a kid growing up in this area if that opportunity ever came? How could you ever not consider doing it? but I don't think it's going to come up. Every time it does, there's a lot of conversations by a lot of people. You know, is it something that, I mean, I think you'd have an unbelievable amount of interest, both from people who live here and around the world. But I just don't think it's going to ever happen.

But I will tell you, Kevin, it is, it is, like, it's just such an amazing, like, life. It's just such an amazing thing that think you can go from being the ball kids to the owner of the tournament or from a fan of the owner. And so, and I think it also gives you that. You always believe with the fan perspective. And you always think about what's the experience for the kid. And I always think about what's the experience for the kid. Like, what's the experience for the Mark I in 2021?

Like, how's this going to touch him? And how are we going to make sure that they can come to the matches? And so, and just to maybe close it out. And that's why when I heard your podcast, I reached out to you to say, let me come on and I appreciate you being open-minded. And having such a great conversation about this. event. It's been such a big part of our community and it's going to have, you know, an extraordinary 52nd year here in August. I was going to reach out anyway. This is a big, big story. And I'm thrilled

for you. It's going to be great to have them here. Thanks for doing this. It's good to catch up. Congratulations. It's a huge get and it'll be a fun week for sure. I mean, for people that are there, but also you're going to draw a much bigger television audience. By the way, will that be a tennis channel product that week? It is. It is a tennis channel product, but it'll also be simulcast, the semis and the finals on JLA here in town. Oh, okay. That's awesome. It'll be free over the air, yeah, yeah, which we're excited about. I think that'll be great.

I'm assuming someone somewhere is going to do watch parties this summer since it will be hard to get the ticket down and they can watch it on WJLA. Yeah, it's going to be great. Thanks, Mark. Best of luck with everything. Talk soon. Thanks. Look forward to seeing you and your wife there this summer. Mark I and everybody, the man responsible for keeping this city open tennis tournament not only alive, but attracting one of the biggest stars globally on the sports landscape,

Roth and Adal, to D.C. at the end of this month. That's it for today. Back tomorrow, I think, with Tommy. And if not, we'll have somebody else on the show. Have a great day.