Gary Horvath reflects on the President’s Cup

“As the sun set on the Rochester horizon, John Horine took to the court to play the 75th and deciding match of the 2000 President’s Cup. Because of an upset earlier in the day at the hands of a strong Region VI team, Horine and partner, Scott Freund, had been handed an opportunity to redeem themselves for their earlier loss. Even though the commentary of Bob Costas and the cameras of ESPN were missing, this match contained all the drama, excitement, plots, and subplots of any of the more widely covered sporting events.

As the match progressed, the score remained close and teammates from both sides started to cheer louder, causing a crowd of 75-100 people to convene around the court. I turned to fellow Region VI player Dan Magee, who had been a President’s Cup virgin just eight hours earlier in the day, and asked him what he had learned from playing in the tournament. Magee had the type of smile on his face that you see on a young boy with a ten dollar bill in a candy shop. With an exhausted yet excited voice, he said “I learned a lot. This game is simple. You can hit any shot you want to hit, just so long as it goes in.” As Magee completed that sentence, Horine and his partner closed out the match with a victory. It was a fitting end, considering the contributions Horine has made to the sport in recent years.

The wisdom of Magee’s words and the drama of the Horine match brought flashbacks of my many varied experiences playing in President’s Cups. For the umpteenth time, I realized what a special event the President’s Cup is and how it has been one of the most significant changes in the sport in the past 25 years.”

Throughout the years there have been a number of dramatic matches and close finishes that rival the closing match of the 2000 championships. There has been an endless string of players, such as Dan Magee, who have experienced platform tennis at a different level because of the Presidents Cup. I think it is safe to say that almost every person who has played President’s Cup has been able to walk away from the event with a smile on his face and at least one lesson learned about how to play the game better.