Rome Was Built in Argentina
3/19/2011 7:58:46 AM | Field Hockey
Field Hockey on Facebook
Today we got a few more bricks laid in Rome. As we know, Rome wasn't built in a day, but Syracuse Field Hockey endeavor to have the city gates open by Saturday afternoon. Today we played Casi, Martina Loncarica's home club, and won 1-0. We also scored in the last minute … no big deal or anything, but that's what we call 'fighting till the death'. Whether it was in honor of Saint Paddy or not, Liz McInerney sustained a blood injury to her chin (although her teeth are definitely all there) on the field of battle, in the midst of a rather spectacular performance at full back. As Enson Inoue once said, “Blood is just red sweat.” She laid a Roman brick down tonight. We won a penalty corner in the final minute which Amy Kee managed to not score, but did get a long corner. That was another brick. Ange Bradley and Amy were then in mid discussion on the half way about the failed corner when Leonie Geyer drove the base line, cut the ball back and little Kelsey Millman was just there waiting, in perfect Saigon squat position, to knock the ball into the cage. That was a whole brick wall. I screamed in an over-excited manner (why change the habit of a life time), whilst Kelsey just gave a satisfied nod to herself regarding her achievement. As has become custom we celebrated by giving each other 'high twos'. It's like high fiving with the 'PEACE' sign. It's, like, sooooo American. The Casi team told us after the game (as we traded uniforms and offloaded a few more really lovely (but simultaneously nasty) lifting shirts, that our talking on the field today was 'annoying'. I'm told I am annoying all the time, therefore we took this as a massive compliment as to how far we have grown from the relative silence of our first game. As you can see Rome is coming along nicely. It's going to be a rowdy city by the time we are done.
While I'm sure all our fans like to think we are running around Buenos Aires in togas all day long, laying hockey foundations, we are going about our business in a slightly classier way. No one is classier on our team than Laura Hahnefeldt who announced on the bus today, “I'm so clever and so beautiful, I feel sorry for everyone else.” It is a fair comment as Laura does appear to have something of an effect on Argentinean boys, however we were rather surprised at the level of self confidence in our favorite German centre mid. Leonie Geyer just sat next to her waving her hands around and bobbing her head doing the recently created 'German Dance', which we took to be an agreement. If any aspiring German Dancers would like to learn some moves from our very outgoing Leo you are invited to our hockey coaching clinics on March 26th (see the SU website for further details). Some of you may prefer to learn the Erika Wachter dance which involves holding the recording camera up and zooming in and out from her face while simultaneously flexing her biceps. She was doing this move for about 10 minutes in front of Steve on the bus today, before he acknowledged her. Even then he wasn't very interested because he was probably daydreaming about his cat. Erika had even less success trying to make Amy Kee dance. As British scientists recently discovered American's are born without the 'cringe gland' which is present in all British People, especially Amy. Presence of the gland results in a reflex of punching people and their recording device when one is coerced into dancing in a potentially publically humiliating manner. Strangely enough research also found that the longer you live in America the weaker the cringe reflex becomes. This is why I am now almost ok with wearing sneakers casually. Next thing I know I will be carrying around my loose pesos in a fanny pack (that's a bum bag Mum and Dad Holloway). Jana Ebert (masterful up-loader of videos to our Facebook page and perpetual owner of the cringe gland) sat and watched proceedings with her usual perplexed look. You know when you are beginning to act like a 10 year old when Jana's lips start to purse. Jana is our resident social barometer for inane behavior, while Ange's hair is currently being used as a slightly archaic means of assessing humidity levels. Mine is no longer applicable for ongoing weather assessment because I am pleased to announce I shaved my head this morning. I believe I have the cheekbones to carry it off. Laura told me so and she knows a thing or two about being beautiful. Can't you feel it … confidence is in the slightly humid air. That's a few more bricks.
While we keep building our Rome, we are only too aware of the people in Japan who will have to start building their cities all over again, too. Thank you so much, once again, for giving money to help us take these massive steps in building Syracuse's 2011 team. We know how lucky we are. Thought for the day: Fall seven times, and stand up eight
