Ehhhh we'll win this thing against the Iraqians. What's gonna be interesting to see is the attendance for this match will be. I think it's safe to say that it will be better than the Austrailia match but by how much? I have several friends going down from DC to the Triangle this weekend. With our 48th consecutive Nike Cup pretty much wrapped up it will be interesting to see who April starts and what her substitution patterns will be. Will it be the same starting 11 as Wednesday? FearM9's preditions: Italy 1:6 USWNT Attendance: 6300 Oh crap I have to let A.J. know that I want to be on attendance as well.
The attendance will definitely be stronger. I've purchased 3 tickets to the game, and I have a friend who works for Eurosport and she said a big group of Eurosport people are planning to attend as well. I'm getting really, really excited about this game. The last time I saw the WNT was when they played Iceland in Charlotte. WoW, that was a long time ago! I also got invited to go to their practice on Saturday. I've never been to one of their practices before, so I'm really looking forward to it. Oh, I need sign ideas!! Do any of you have some suggestions?? Please let me know if you do!
Milliefan question for you Hey Milliefan, How did you get a chance to go to their practice on Sat? Thanks for answering!
Take lots of pictures. And remember the quirky stuff that happens. Then come back her to Bigstalker.com and tell us about it! Please! Who was shooting well? What kind of drills? Which keeper looked sharper? Oooh and make sure you take a sharpie with you as you might have a shot at an auto.
Gray~I got invited b/c my parents and I are 2003 Carolina Courage season ticket holders and we have purchased tickets to the Italy game. M9fanatic~Thanks for the tips! I'll be sure to take tons of photos and a trusty sharpie. I'll also try to remember as many details as possible and report back here. WOW, I really missed this placed. I stopped coming here b/c I've just been so busy with school and stuff. Looks like I'll have to arrange bigsoccer into my daily schedule somehow from now on.
I'm Back!! WoW!! I had the best time! I'm not sure where to begin! It wasn't a very long practice, only about 1 hour. Bri arrived first, before everybody else and began doing some foot drills. Once the whole team got there and got their stuff on and everything April started them off with a 4 v 2 exercise and they would ever so often take a break and do some warm-up stretches. Then they split up into two teams and did a half-field scrimmage game where there were two goals set up at midfield w/ no gk and at the other end Bri and Siri took turns being gk for the regular goal. Next, they worked on some direct kicks (Mia was taking them) and then some corners w/ Mia taking them as well. After that was finished Lilly and Brandi sat out. Brandi got some ice on her knee and Lilly got some on her back and they did crunches and sit-ups for the rest of practice, while the others either took some shots on goal or practice long balls and volleys. Then, Mac came over and helped Lilly and Brandi up and they did some cool down stretches at the center circle. As far as who looked better in goal, it was really a toss up. Both Bri and Siri looked pretty sharp. NOW, for the good stuff!! Sometimes out there it sounded like it was the Mexican National team instead of the US b/c TR and some others kept doing these Mexican calls like Speedy Gonzales or something. That was pretty funny. Then towards the end of practice everyone was getting some water by the bench and April picked up TR's HUGE sunglasses and put them on and said, "Doesn't this remind everybody of what their mothers would wear?" Everyone busted out laughing then. When they were signing autographs it was really nice b/c since not many people were there b/c it was a closed practice session you didn't really have to fight your way to get to them. I brough a couple of drawings I did for them to sign. Sobs signed first and told me to make sure everybody else sees it b/c she thought it was really good. Most of the team ended up signing it and everytime each one of them signed it they'd asked,"Did you draw this? Wow, that impressive." Or something to that effect. CP even recognized that the picture I drew was from 1996. I also got Mac to sign a picture I drew of her and she was impressed. I took Fear's advice and made some cookies this morning before I left and gave those to Cat Reddick who was very appreciative and complimented me on my UNC Soccer t-shirt I was wearing. I also got them some doughnuts and I was going to give them to Foudy, but she was on the phone trying to get in contact w/ Eurosport, so I gave them to Mia and right away she yelled, "JULES!" who was still on the phone. Mia then said, "Yeah, Julie loves doughnuts. I like them too, but I'll let her rip into them first." Then she took the doughnuts over to Foudy who yelled out, "Who brought these!!??" , with a huge smile on her face. I raised my hand (she was off the phone by this time) and she came over to me and thanked me for the doughnuts and signed my drawing, which she said was really good. When Brandi was signing my dad's hat she noticed Katia and Sissi's sigs on it already and said, "They only have like 4 letters in their names, why do they have to take up so much space!" It was pretty funny the way she said it. I got some pictures while they were practicing but was only able to get one picture taken w/ a player and that was TR. Everybody was in a good spirits and laughing all the time. At the end most left, while a few stayed to give autographs to those who weren't able to come to the practice. Another funny thing that happened was the trainers and other people with the team were carrying around this spray and spraying it everywhere b/c the bees were soooo bad. It was pretty comical. And I guess that was about it...Sorry this was so long. Oh I'll be bring 2 signs to the game tomorrow. One says,"Mac, Look for the Meg!" and another says, "Vote for Foudy" Ok, so I'm not really creative, but if you guys have any ideas please let me know!!
Thanks for that report! You did well. I especialy enjoyed the sunglasses and donut thing. If you feel so inclined to share some pictures with the rest of the class we would greatly appreciated. I like your ideas for signs. You get an A!!
*sob* I WANT A USWNT GAME IN INDIANA!!! Or Chicago, or somewhere closer than Columbus... *sigh* Thanks for the report!! It makes me depressed because I've never met any of them aside from Carla (who is unbelievably awesome and great with fans), but I enjoyed all the details! Feel free to post any other little thing you may remember! Rock on!
Yes, yes, I know. I was at Notre Dame that day for a soccer/campus visit. Next game in Chicago, though, I'm there. GO USA!
I'm going to try and take some more pictures today and then get them all downloaded, so it may take a little while b/c my computer is really slow, but I'll do my best to let everyone see them as soon as possible.
Heather O'Reilly article from the Raleigh News & Observer: http://sports.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1790710p-1796100c.html
Standing room only? Doesn't look that way.... Who's injured? I was in the kitchen when they were babbling...
You must be getting a different feed than me cuz SAS looks sold out to me. Here are some attendance figures from the last time there was a FULL Nike Cup that was held in Portland in 2000: 6517 & 7659
*shrug* who knows...looks like a bunch of empty seats on the italian defensive end. *shrug* who knows