Sweet Home Chicago Open
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Story and Photos by Zee Shaan Jamal
** Video Below **

Imagine you have a vision. A vision to enhance the profile of the sport you love and know that it will benefit from your efforts. Then you set out to make that vision come true, give it the shape of reality, set it up for the world to see, but then suddenly, it’s yanked away right away from you and leaves you stranded.

This is what happened here at the Sweet Home Chicago Open 2008.

Being the inaugural event, the Sweet Home Chicago Open had a lot of hopes and dreams riding on it. It was the realization of Imran Nasir’s expansive vision for the sport he so dearly loves and teaches. Everyone I spoke to at the venue simply marveled at the magnificence of the brains behind such a unique concept. The location, the backdrop for the squash court, the massive crowds it sees walk by it everyday. What a vision and what brilliant execution but there did lay a twist in the fairy tale.

It rained, it rained some more and then it poured. This caused not only a delay in the tournament’s schedule but also caused the quarter-final matches to be played indoors. This kept the major crowds away, which was the selling point of this tournament in the first place. The exposure envisioned for the game, due to the court being setup outdoors was now obliterated in the wake of such heavy rains. I myself saw the disappointed faces of the players, crowds, sponsors and Imran, who did his best to set smiles across everyone’s lips by being cheerful and jovial, but his disappointment was there hidden under the calm tough exterior and his smiles. All credit to him for facing this adversity with such grace and tenacity, but now he wanted and needed God on his side.

Then God smiled upon him, the weather cleared as the clouds parted to give way to sunlight. The weather forecasts displayed clear days ahead and immediately Imran tirelessly went to work, supervising the rebuilding of the McWil glass court which had suffered some damage due to heavy rains in the past two days. The true heroes for the day were of course, the McWil court construction team, who not only took care of putting everything together in a matter of only a few hours, but also replaced the court’s lights and cleared the floor of water-storage caused during the showers. They worked miracles and deserve a pat on the back from all of us involved here at the tournament, for without them, our game cannot be showcased to the world at the heart of the ‘magnificent mile’.

As a result of their hard work, the tournament is back on the glass court and again 100s of people witnessed our top pros practice their craft to the best of their abilities. They were totally dazed and amazed by the sheer talent our pros possess and thanks to these ‘unsung heroes of the tournament’ (McWil court workers and Imran Nasir), I can say with certain authority that we managed to win many new fans among the crowds which saw the semi-final matches of today.

Thank you Imran, Thank you McWil. Keep up the good work please and we are forever grateful.

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