BOISE -- The trophy, the athletes, and the excitement are all here in Boise. Matches start on Friday for the Davis Cup.

The real beauty of an event like this is that it kind of gears people up, and now summer's around the corner and people will say, 'hey I'm going to pull out that racket now and start playing again,' said Idaho Tennis Association Director, Steven Bickham.

Bickham said the Davis Cup is bringing many people back to the sport.

We're ecstatic about all the new tennis enthusiasm that we've had throughout town, from phone calls, to leagues, to everything has just really been picking up, he said.

Bickham said they've already seen a lot of interest, and he thinks even more people will get into tennis after the Davis Cup wraps up.

What you'll find with the Davis Cup, it's a totally different tennis event than you're used to, said Bickham. People will be screaming, going crazy, they'll be wearing red white and blue hats, they'll be cheering when people make mistakes. So it gets that person that maybe isn't a hardcore tennis fan to start liking tennis a little bit more.

The enthusiasm might carry off the court, too. Folks with the United States Tennis Association said fans tailgated before Davis Cup matches in Jacksonville.

If people do come down and decide to tailgate, we'll allow it as long as we can do so, said Nicole Bandas, Assistant Director of Parking and Transportation at Boise State. We're not encouraging it because we know that parking is going to be a crunch on Friday and Saturday and Sunday.

Bandas said tailgaters are welcome on grassy areas near the parking lots.

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