that match was kickass! The first half was sluggish, but once they put Abby in, it was excellent!! Who thinks we should just let Abby and Mia run the offense from here on out?
Hey, I can only yell so much, when I have mothers and little kids turning around and giving me dirty looks and staring. I don't like that.
I'm gonna share my two cents with ya'll. MIA! MIA! MIA! 3 goals and... MIA! MIA! MIA! 3 assists! ABBY! ABBY! ABBY! Holler!! Brandi. How this woman went out there and played that well is beyond me. Like Rob Stone said "Brandi is an all around solid human being".
haha i think that is truly the first time i've laughed. well besides when Jules was making Mia laugh after she beat up her shoulder again.
Jules is great. Abby and Mia ruled the pitch today. I was a very happy fan. It's most excellent to see my girls kick ass. In a perfect world we have a three forward system: Mia, Abby and Millie. My God...what a terror that would be.
Hey, all! I went to this match! My first time at a USWNT match! Very nice facility, although I had been under the impression that it was all seats and no bleachers. Oh well. There were approximately 6200 announced spectators. Seemed about right, although I was definitely in the thick of them all, except at the beginning of practice---I was sitting virtually all alone in section 104, three rows up, in my powder blue Atlanta Beat Parlow jersey, when the queen herself waved in my direction while running to and fro on the field's width, between the midline and the goal we were attacking in the first half. I didn't know what to do. I shyly waved back in the odd event that she was waving in acknowledgement of my jersey. *lol* It was pretty interesting seeing them in person. I didn't really know what to expect. It still amazes me that they are just human beings, like us. It was great seeing Cindy in person, along with all the others. I don't know what to make of the match itself. I thought we played pretty well. We had many goals, obviously, and even more chances. Perhaps we were a bit slow to make things work, but for whatever reason, we broke it wide open. Could it have been because of the heat? I was totally tortured out there today! Or because of our many substitutions at the half? I just don't know, but I liked the game. Lots of flow, and lots of fight in the corners for the ball. And hell, Cindy scored first!!! Yaaaaaaay! And I was right there behind her as she took the kick, and I saw it absolutely perfectly, which was maybe the most amazing thing I've experienced. One thing about seeing the mattch in person versus on television is that everything they are doing looks a lot easier in person somehow. Kind of hard to explain since I'm a total zombie right now, having just gotten off a Greyhound bus back in the 'Burgh, and still reeling from the intense heat in Columbus. Since I had so darned much time to kill before my Greyhound bus left DT Columbus, I figured what the hay, I know I'm 26, but why not kill the time seeing these amazing people up close. I didn't fight the horde of people that had converged over near the player field entrance; I just more or less stood where I was. After a while, Kate Sobrero came over and made autograph rounds. Then later Julie Foudy gave me my second aotograph, and a bit of goodhearted grief about my Beat jersey. *lol* I then made a half-joking vow to her to get a Spirit jersey as soon as I can afford it, because, hey, I'm a native San Diegan. What a lovable, talented bunch. It's still an unfulfilled goal to actually *meet* P-Low, but I reckon I will soon, either next time the nats hit Columbus or next year when the Freedom take on Atlanta. So, those are the thoughts of a first-timer. Just thought you'd like to know. War USA! War Beat! Cory
I was sitting virtually all alone in section 104, three rows up, in my powder blue Atlanta Beat Parlow jersey i saw ya there! it was like the only beat jersey in the crowd!
You saw me? Wow! Yeah, I was sort of surprised at how little WUSA clothing I saw. It was all red white and blue, except for me and two people I saw in tie-dye cyber rays tees, and then all the teenage girls in their club unies. I'd have expected a little more league wear, although then again, as I learned in another thread, it's still shocking how many people don't know the WUSA exists. Hell, my cabbie home from Greyhound didn't even know there was a USWNT!!! *lol*
You know, in all honesty, Scotland didn't really suck all that much. I mean, they did get two goals in the first half...but I guess that was because Solo was in goal instead of a grownup. Their goals were nice...I guess... I, personally, enjoyed the second half. There's nothing quite like watching Abby and Mia run the show. Oh, I guess you're right...Scotland does suck. lol. But they tried valiantly against a team that's just a teeeeeny weensy bit better than they are.
Now now. Let's be nice. *lol* I don't know a thing about Scotland soccer. And I don't know the women's FIFA rankings because since the men's World Cup, everybody's been all wowed at them ("Wow, dude! We're #10!!! Cowabunga* ) ). So my question is, how do Scotland fair against the women's powerhouses, such as Norway, China, et cetera? Do they still "suck"? Also, as i was touching upon in an earlier post, what's the weather like there in Scotland? I know for me, I'd do the best in a stereotypically Seattle-esque weather. But in Columbus that day, it was hot and sunny as all get out! I wonder if that weather was kind of foreign to them, and therefore had an unusual impact.
Cold, wet, rainy and foggy. But you know what? No one likes playing when it's 100 degrees on the field. Sure the U.S. is a little more used to it. It's like Green Bay playing in Miami, you know? You suck it up and you play through it. Yesterday wasn't about weather, it was about getting an ass kicking by a superior team.
I don't know much about Scottish soccer. But I do know, it was very recently that the team made it into the top 20 or so European teams (Norway, Germany, etc.) They won their group in some qualifier or other. I believe most of the teams they have played has not been of the quality of the US, China, and Norway. And yes, it was hotter than hell yesterday, and also very little cloud coverage. I think I had also hear that they had 2 practices on Saturday, and arrived only Thursday or Friday, so I think fatique played some part in the performance the second half.
When it was first announced that Fleeting was going to be signed by the Spirit, I checked the Scottish Football Association website for info. You have to really dig to compile any info, as they do not have separate entries for players. If you go to: http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/fixtures/index.htm and then look under both "Women's European Championship" and "Women's International Challenge Matchs" you will see that the team has seldom played the big teams. No Norway, no Germany, the Swedish U-21 once, the USA U-21 once; France, Italy, and England once or twice. The team obviously hasn't been getting the support that some of the other Euro teams have, but that has changed at least a little bit. Having lost the coach that got them to the point where they could win that qualifying group must have been a setback.
Exactly, the weather had an effect on both sides. And it is not like these Scots haven't ever seen weather like this in their lives. Fleeting played in the states most of the summer, and Gemma (starting keeper) trained here all summer in 90+ temps. and humidity. The weather is not an excuse. I thought the Scots held their own in the first half and did quite well, especially considering that the average age of the players is something like 22. Once again I may be a bit biased, but they have nothing to be ashamed of...if they can take the first half and build on that to put a full 90 together of that quality, they will be just fine.