clinching a spot in this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
To advance to the semifinals, we went through a hard-fought trio of games against Cuba, Panama and Honduras. We tied the first game 1-1, while winning the last two 1-0. On Saturday we beat Honduras on a last-minute penalty kick tucked in the lower right corner by the always-calm Eddie Gaven.
Tampa has been very good to us. The DoubleTree in Tampa has treated us very well, and the food has been very good. Before our pre-game meals, the staff was very enthusiastic, welcoming us with a giant USA flag and red, white and blue pom-poms. It was a bit much, but it's great to see the pride in our country. It was the most pride I saw this week from people that weren't in our group, other than when the fans started chanting "U.S.A! U.S.A!" after the security escorted off a female streaker during our game Saturday! I'll let Stu explain a bit more about that!
Stu: Yeah, Pat that would be a good decision. I don't think your fiancée would appreciate that, and I know you didn't really see her, because when I looked back, you were looking the other way shaking your head (shame on you!).
Haha, I can honestly say that is the first game I have ever played in where there was an actual streaker on the field. Looking back at it now (with a 1-0 win in the bag), it is pretty funny, but at the same time, when you are in a heated, competitive match, it was a little frustrating. We had a breakaway, and I was trying to chip the ball through to Chad. Instead of a Honduras defender coming to stop me, I saw the streaker charging at me full speed ahead! Interesting experience to say the least!
We are happy to be through to the next round and can't wait for the semifinal on Thursday. At this point, we still don't know who we are playing in Nashville, but we will be prepared no matter who we face. Thank you for all the support over the past week or so, and we look forward to getting back with the Dynamo after qualifying is complete! Oh, and we also want to wish the boys all the best against Municipal on the 19th.
Talk to you soon, folks!
Stu and Meatball (I love how I always get to end the blogs and send them in before Pat can change things!)
Hey Dynamo Fans,
Well it is now Sunday and only two days before our first game against Cuba on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida. We can't wait to put on the USA jersey and walk out in Raymond James Stadium and get the qualifying games underway! We have had 3-4 months of camps that have prepared us well for these games, including a tough last week in which we have done a lot of "tuning" and touching up on details (set pieces, etc).
Stu: It was good to see all the guys again after a couple weeks with our respective clubs. We have a good team spirit with the team here, similar to the atmosphere we have with the Dynamo, which always helps on the field! The first two days of practice were to get the travel out of our legs and to get us going a little bit before we got to some harder sessions later in the week.
One of the best parts of our day is always the "regeneration" after practice in the swimming pool and hot tub. It involves a game of "who can make the best diving catch" with either a tennis ball or football. (You can see there isn't too much to do on the IMG campus). Pat didn't realize you were supposed to catch the ball with your hands, and the "gorilla" kept trying to trap the ball between his feet (typical). I thought about lying and saying I made the best catch of the trip, but that just wouldn't be fair to our loyal Dynamo fans (haha). I was probably third choice receiver behind some pretty stellar competition from the goalies who, surprisingly, had good hands!
Pat: And we're back. For all you reading this, don't encourage Stu with his horrible humor. Actually, I've learned to laugh at his first joke or else he will keep going until you do.
Well, Qualifying. Finally! So last night, we had a meeting to discuss details about Tampa. Coach Nowak gave us the choice of who we wanted to room with for the games. Stu raised his hand and, before coach could call on him, he screamed, "Pat." Trying to hide my feelings of being over him, I made the little maggot happy by keeping a straight face and simply saying "Oh, for sure!"
This morning we had a light practice, working on overlapping, crossing and finishing. Stu found out that he will be wearing No. 7, which should help the economy, as every teenage girl in Houston is going to be asking their parents for their future husband's new No. 7. As for my worldwide fan base, don't fret, Mom and Dad, I'm still No. 4, unless Waibel decides that I shouldn't have it. Haha. (Hope you read this, Waibs!)
Stu: I just want to finish this blog by apologizing for Pat's attempt at humor. Those "jokes" above are why he never usually tries to be funny, especially because he was begging coach to be my roommate, but that's O.K. I'll let him continue to think that if it makes him happy and think he's funny for at least a couple minutes before he reads what he wrote!
We both want to wish all of our Dynamo teammates best of luck down in Guatemala. It would be a perfect Tuesday if we can get a win here in Tampa and the boys can get a win down in Guatemala on Wednesday!
P.S.: Waibs, if you score, you'd better save the celebration for when I am there, or there will be some major trouble.
Best,
Stu and Pat
Hey Dynamo fans, guess who's back again? It's Stu and Pat checking in from Bradenton, a place we can almost call home after the amount of time we have spent here over the past two months!
First of all, we just want to thank all the fans that turned up at Jones Plaza last Friday afternoon to welcome the Brener International Group and Oscar De La Hoya with Golden Boy Promotions to the Dynamo family! It felt like an eternity since we last heard the beating drums and chants from El Batallón and the Texian Army, so it was great to have everyone out there, and I'm sure you, just like ourselves, can't wait for the opening game of 2008 and our pursuit of another championship!!
Stu: We've been preparing for Olympic Qualifying over the last couple months with various trips and training camps in China, L.A., and Florida, so now that qualifying is just around the corner, I am really looking forward to it! It's going to be a busy and hard month for us, but I am confident that if we work hard for the next week (as we have been the past couple months) we will be well prepared to put some good performances out in Tampa at Raymond James Stadium.
We left our Dynamo teammates Friday after practice and flew out at 7:15 a.m. on Saturday morning and arrived in Bradenton around 2 p.m. Our first training session was Sunday afternoon, with a light session to get the legs moving after all the travel, and we hit the gas with a hard session on Monday! We scrimmaged Creighton University on Tuesday and won 4-0, but we'll touch more on that later.
Pat: Stu didn't really leave much for me to write, so I just want to say a quick hello, and I look forward to keeping you updated with our progress and training sessions over the next month.
Check back soon for more updates and insight from camp with the U-23's.
Cheers,
Stu and Pat (Meatball)
