Sunday July 4 – First Day of games

I could barely sleep last night, I was so nervous and excited for today to come. Finally, after months of working myself as hard as possible in sprint sessions, endurance runs before work, and daily strength exercises just t be considered for the team, no to mention what I’ve done since my selection, the day had finally arrive. We had our first game at 8.30, which meant a 7.30 start to warm ups on the field. And yes, that meant I was sweating hard and putting in serious effort well before the time I usually show up to work.

The first team was against Iku, the Japanese mixed champions. We played a fantastic game, with momentum swings back and forth. At one point we were even up a break, but unfortunately we were unable to keep our foot on the pedal, and ended up losing 17-13. Although a respectable score, we had drawn first blood and knew we could beat our seeding (28^th), with top 20 being a highly realistic goal.

I myself played very well in this game, being awarded the MVP by our opponents and scoring a sweet hat for that. I’ll post a pics when I have the opportunity. My D was strong, and I was turnover free for the game – a rarity for me, but something I’ve consciously been working on.

In our second game we matched up against Quiet Coyote out of Boston. This team features a good friend of mine whom I have known since my sophomore year of college, Misha Horowitz. If you had told me the day we met that we’d someday be facing each other at Worlds, I would have laughed in your face, so preposterous the idea was at the time. But today it became reality, and the surreal feeling that had surrounded this matchup since I saw it on the schedule was lifted when we slapped hands on the field. Misha and I have always matched up well, and today was no exception: we battled back and forth, each knowing the other’s moves all too well, which meant we both had to work hard to get what we wanted on the field. It was awesome. I wa also glad to see that after all his injury problems, Misha looks lean and fit, and he certainly proved that it is more than looks on the field. I don’t think he’s been this fast and nimble since he started getting injured, and he confirmed what I saw: he feels great and ready to play at this level. So good to see a friend get back on track like that.

Ultimately, we ended up losing to QC by a final score of 17-10, which I think was fair. Herd kept building throughout, as evidenced by the fact that they took half 9-3 but we went back and forth with them in the second half, each team delivering runs to keep the game exciting. Following the games, I gave Misha the full Thundering Herd kit I’d bought him, including the highly coveted cow print shorts – we’ve been receiving offers left and right for those things.

I finished out the day by drinking beer and having fun with QC, who hooked me up with a fitted hat, first in the Strahov stadium – HUGE – and then at the show game before returning to the flats for Si’s amazing spaghetti Bolognese. A solid start into Worlds, and we move on to Monday with the expectation of winning both games, against Zagreb and Bologna (CUSB) and moving up. I’ll start the day by watching Ben Spears and Chain, which is great. It’s amazing how many friends and acquaintances I have here! Max Woolf is playing on QC, also, and I ran into The Rook a.k.a. Tom Manowitz, who’s here with the Melbourne, Australia, team Redbacks that also features Herd 2 team mate Glenn Monauer.

I’ll keep you updated.