Day 6: April 2, 2008
It's game day. Today we play Canada and nervousness/excitement fills within us all. Breakfast was at 8am and afterwards we had a jog/stretch to loosen up our muscles. Even with being nervous, the team seemed in good spirits and up for the challenge ahead of us. We had some time after stretching and before lunch to relax. Today also turned out to be one of our teammate's (Darcel) birthday. The hotel made her a cake and we all sang happy birthday to her at the end of lunch. After lunch we got our things ready for the game and had a meeting in the conference room. Coach Jamal gave the starting positions and reminded us of key points for the game. We would go into this game with full confidence that we could give this Canadian team a run for their money. Our key to this game would be our speed. We all knew that the Canadians could not keep up with our speedy players. The bus ride to the stadium was festive with Trini music playing over the loud speakers. Just listening to Maximus Dan's "Soca Warriors" got me pumped and I could feel the pride fueling within my body.
There is plenty of preparation time before the game starts. For the most part we stay in the locker room mentally preparing ourselves, whether it be listening to our ipods, juggling a ball, or just sitting there because we are only allowed 25 minutes to warm up. There were plenty of Mexican fans in the stadium, even for our game. They just love to watch futbol. The interesting part is that they were cheering for us even though we are not their home team. Opening ceremonies took place, both national anthems were played (which Ria and I memorized to sing proudly along with our teammates) and then at the blow of the whistle the game began. We fought a real hard game, but the final score was 6-0 in favor of Canada. The score of the game did not reflect how we played. We had our chances and even had Canada on their heels at some points because they underestimated the speed we have. At least four of Canada's six goals were on set pieces (corner or free kick). They sure did take advantage of their ability in the air. Although it was not the turn-out we wanted, we did not put our heads down because we still had the Costa Rica game to look forward to as our opportunity of going on to the second round. We stayed and watched the first half of the Mexico vs. Jamaica game. The stadium was filled with fans and I could barely hear myself think with all the noise that was around me. While watching the game we were bombarded with Mexican fans wanting autographs and photos with us but at the same time we were highly secured with guards and policemen all around us.With so much security you would think we were the President! We left the stadium at halftime and had a late dinner when we got back to the hotel and went to bed afterwards. It was a long day with a not-so-wanted result, but we still had hope.
Day 7: April 3, 2008
Still thinking about our tough loss the previous night to Canada, we started out our morning after breakfast by having a meeting to discuss the good and bad points of the game. We had to recollect ourselves, remember what happened and then put it behind us so we could start preparing for our next match against Costa Rica. We only had one practice set for the evening so the team had plenty of time to relax and spend some time together. Since it was a day before another game and we had just played a game the night before, today was also a day to take care of those injured or in need of treatment. At least 8 of the girls needed ice baths so we filled up the tub in our room and those who needed it took turns. It was funny to hear the girls cry out when they stepped their foot in the tub, but those who laughed did not find it as funny when it was their turn! It was nice relaxing in the room with the girls, we had music playing, girls were dancing and singing. I think that was good for brightening up our spirits. After lunch we had a few hours before practice so Rissa and I decided to take a nap. That was also refreshing because we don't get to do that too often back at school! Practice was at 5pm. It was very light but at the same time we were correcting formations and doing specific drills in order to prepare for Costa Rica. We ended about 6:30pm and headed back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner, most of the team took a trip to Wal-Mart but Rissa, Dernelle and myself stayed back. We ended the night by watching Superman Returns before curfew at 11pm.
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