Tennis Channel’s Sweeps

  

 Update: 01 Feb 2008

Hooray for the Coker’s! 

From: xxxx Neil [mailto:tennischannel.com]
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2008
To: Coker, Kevin
Subject: Tennis Channel: Heating Up Down Under Sweepstakes

Hi Kevin,

We had a 30% increase in our sweepstakes result.
I’m sure your blog was one of the reasons for the big increase.  

Thanks again.

Cheers,
Neil
———————————————————-

Yep..that is us on the Tennis Channel’s website. You can also see all of our teeth on a commercial
that is running on the network. It was a bit disconcerting when i saw it the first time, me staring back at me.
And all of those teeth.

AP Photo

Do I still think the phone call was “SPAM?”Nope! Not anymore. We are actually heading to Los Angeles on the first leg of our journey to the 2008 Australian Open, courtesy of Tennis Channel - a trip that almost didn’t happen.It was March of 2007 when the call came from Neil, Marketing Director of the Tennis Channel. At first I thought it was a prank because the caller made the ridiculous claim that I had won the Aussie Mania Sweepstakes! Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, sure – and you want my credit card and social security number too, right? I told the prank caller that I happened to be at my son’s baseball practice and asked if he could possibly call me back tomorrow. I did notice the tone of surprise and incredulousness in the voice of the caller and he grudgingly agreed to call me back. As I sat watching the kids play ball, a sense of doubt and curiosity struck me at once. Could that actually have been the Tennis Channel? I vaguely remembered entering a sweepstakes, but it seemed to have been so many months ago. I looked at the caller id on my cell phone and decided to hit redial. What was there to lose? To my amazement and much to my chagrin the call was answered in a very crisp and professional manner, “Hello, the Tennis Channel. How may I direct your call?”

Nisha arrives Down Under.

“Uh oh,” I thought. I then realized that I had quite possibly lost out on a very grand prize. I quickly explained who I was and why I was calling and was promptly given the voicemail of someone who could hopefully bail me out of my situation. As the baseball practice ended and we made our way home I immediately went to Google and entered the phone number reflected in the call earlier and there it was, on my screen in front of me, the corporate site of the Tennis Channel with the phone number listed as the primary contact. As I slinked back in my chair, I realized that this was no prank or scam and that I had won the 2008 Aussie Mania Sweepstakes and I had just told the Marketing Director to call me back tomorrow. Nice.

The Call Back
My wife, Nisha knows that I am a cautious man. She was not surprised that I had asked the Tennis Channel Marketing Director to call me back tomorrow. I spent much of the day watching the phone for Neil to call me back. It finally came, and with much humility I explained everything and was relieved when he told me that I was still the winner and the prize hadn’t been awarded to a more appreciative contestant! After a short exchange of contact information and more apologies from me, we agreed to remain in touch as plans were finalized. As the details of the trip came in we learned we would fly from our nearest airport of Houston to Los Angeles, and then from LA to Sydney for 2 nights and then to Melbourne, home of the Australian Open. We just couldn’t believe our luck - a trip to Australia, a VIP tour of a famous winery, luxurious accommodations and tickets to some of the best tennis in the world. It really didn’t sink in for us until now - all these months later at 30,000 feet in the air heading for Los Angeles.
 
The Confession
We know absolutely nothing about tennis. Don’t be hatin’.
 
The Wait

Kevin with the Opera House.

It is an incredibly long year in the life of a sweepstakes winner. It all starts with the notification, the affidavit, insuring ETA’s for the Australian Visa’s are filled out and printed, checking passport expiration dates and all of the last minute preparations for overseas travel. My advice at this point is to shop for the trip to Australia in the summer. If it is winter where you live, you might find it difficult to find season appropriate attire for Australia in January. We definitely had our hands full planning for this trip. We both commute long hours for work, along with a running a small farm where we raise registered Texas Longhorns, chickens, 10 farm cats, miniature Mediterranean donkeys and 3 very active boys - Jake (11), Adam (8) and Ethan (6). Our oldest sons Zach (19) and Ryan (17) live in Florida - one in college and the other just months away. We are very fortunate to have Mom and Dad graciously agree to cover for us. They will live in our house while we are away - a situation the boys couldn’t be more excited about.
 
The Journey Begins
The day is here and Grandma and Grandpa arrived for sitting/farm duties. We quickly ran them through the operations of our farm and the idiosyncrasies of our 111-year old farm house. I really feel bad for my in-laws - not just with trying to keep up with 3 rambunctious boys, but since we have maintained all the original floors and windowpanes it will be hard to heat the house of our very old home above 68 degrees. I’m hoping they really don’t mind the conditions as this is a great opportunity for them to spend a week in the country, spend time with their grandkids, gather the eggs each day and enjoy some quality rocking chair time on the front porch. Our journey started with a quick cup of Starbucks and the 90 minute drive into the Houston airport. As quickly as it started, it almost ended! We didn’t print out our ETA’s and we couldn’t check our baggage without that documentation. Fortunately, the very kind Continental agents were able to retrieve our ETA’s online and we were given our boarding passes without delay. Here we go…it is definitely for real now! We will be in LA in a few hours before the 13 hour flight to Sydney. I have my watch set on Sydney time with hopes of a quick time adjustment to the Land Down Under. We will arrive in Sydney at 8:00 a.m. on Friday. Being 6′3 and 275 pounds, these airline seats feel like a torture chamber. Friday, 8:00 a.m. might just as well be next month.

Arrival Sydney

We can even see the Opera House from our hotel room.

That was the longest either of us had been on an airplane! All in all, not too bad. Quantas has a really cool entertainment system that caters to most a/v needs. The crew was attentive and made sure we were comfortable throughout the flight. For the next winner, I recommend you call ahead and request your seats in advance because once the plane fills to 70% capacity they will no longer issue seating arrangements until 48 hours prior to departure. If you are sitting within 4 rows of designated “infant seating” you will need a very good set of earplugs. (by the end of the flight the little darling was cooing and smiling at all of us and for a fleeting moment it made me miss those days) We landed and made it through customs with no problems, retrieved our bags and found our way to the taxi line and then off we were to check in at the Sydney Stafford Rendezvous Hotel. It is located in the heart of the Rocks, with a spectacular view of the Quay and the Sydney Opera House. I had already received great service from the hotel as I had earlier inquired about transfer options from the airport to the hotel and received a quick, detailed and informative response via email. A short cab ride from the airport (about $40 USD), the hotel is an unassuming respite in the heart of the Rocks. We were cheerfully greeted by Angela at the front desk and she recommended an area close by where we could find a quick bite to eat. We ended up at the Rocks Café, which we later learned is a Rocks icon. What a wonderful meal! We had the Bubbles and Squeak. I’m not sure exactly what that would be in Texas, but here it consists of mashed potatoes mixed with seasonal vegetables, topped off with two fried eggs and served with a side of thick bread. The Cappuccino was probably the best I’ve ever had.