Around this time last year, I attended the US Open, which resulted in an essay about how the tournament’s grounds are basically an outdoor airport terminal (paywalled for subscribers—you could be one of them!) This isn’t to say the event isn’t a great time. I love airport terminals too. I went to the US Open again this week and experienced the same effect even more strongly, noticing how every concession stall features a big flat screen displaying current match scores, in place of the airport’s ubiquitous arrival/departure screens. Upon arriving this year, I also noticed something else: Everywhere I looked, someone was wearing a dark blue Chase Bank baseball hat, which were clearly issuing forth as free merch from the company’s sponsored lounges. I became fixated on getting one of the hats, mostly because the thought of sporting a Chase hat in the future, anywhere but on the US Open grounds, seemed amusing (the hats barely even referenced the tournament, aside from a small logo on the side). They were funny in the same way that