I guess I have been asleep! It’s not like I am not all over things like this when I see them, but since I pay little attention to tennis, I missed this one! Here’s the official line from the Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series website:
Now in its ninth season, the Emirates Airline US Open Series continues to serve as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. Fans follow the action throughout the summer during national broadcast coverage while players battle for $40 million, including a chance for bonus prize money at the US Open. The Series collectively reached a U.S. television audience of 39 million and drew more than 800,000 on-site fans in 2011. In 2012, Emirates Airline became the title sponsor of the Series, as well as the official airline of the US Open.
Could someone please tell me why the U.S. Open Series is sponsored by Emirates Airlines? Emirates Airline is based in Dubai! I understand that they are also located in the United States as is every other international airline you can think of. And as a result, I can understand that various international companies might be called upon to sponsor an event that features international players. But for nine years it has been the Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series! Really? The image this portrays is simply intolerable to me! (Again, I am sorry that I never caught this before -z z z z z z!) If someday there is a truly American company that depicts itself as Muslim or Arabic, so be it if we arrive at that point. But this is an Arab company headlining as the chief sponsor of a major American sporting event! Are there really no American companies, born and bred in America that could step up and sponsor the U.S Open Series? Was this decision a purely financial one: to sell-out our patriotism because we needed money for stadium seats or was this a political statement being made by the United States Tennis Association?
