Nobody is happier the Columbus Crew are back home for the next two matches than the Energizer Bunny himself, defender Frankie Hejduk.
"I'm his roommate on the road. He was a little more tired than the normal Frankie Energy," said midfielder Duncan Oughton.
Whoa. That statement is as shocking as Turkey making it to the semifinals of Euro 2008. Although the 33-year-old Hejduk likes to cultivate his image a party-hearty dude whose offseason training consists of a surfboard and some tasty waves, he always is one of the fittest players whether it is with the Crew or the U.S. national team.
So, when even he admits to having that rundown feeling, then something is up. Or up and down -- on planes. Since early May he has made three sojourns to California and one to Toronto with the Crew; he was with the U.S. squad for matches on both coasts and represented the Yanks on two European trips. Plus, there were two home games during the six-week stretch.
"One of the commentators said I traveled around the world twice in the last month. Seriously," he said.
Here's his quick recap of the last four weeks: "I went from here (Columbus) to LA. LA to England. England back to here. Here to Spain. Spain back to here. Here to New York. New York to LA. LA back to here. Back to LA two days later. LA back to here."
Hejduk played 90 minutes for the Crew at San Jose and Toronto on May 10 and 17 and at home on the 24th before coming on at the half May 28 in London against England. He went all the way vs. Chivas USA in Carson, Calif., on May 31 before making another second-half appearance June 4 in Spain. That was followed by 90 minutes in Columbus vs. San Jose on June 7 and a stoppage time appearance the next day for the U.S. in East Rutherford, N.J. He did not play when the USA beat Barbados in Carson June 15 but started and finished the match in The Home Depot Center June 21 in MLS play against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"It's the most traveling I've ever done in my career for sure," he said. "It's a lot easier when you're a little bit younger. I'm not fully recovered. The thing that kills you is all the time changes. You get your proper sleep on the plane from business class, at least. When you're in MLS you're not getting your proper sleep -- you're in economic class in a middle seat and it's a 7 a.m. flight. Normally you don't sleep after a game and you're up 'til 3 and have to get up before 6.
"You're body is not used to it. I wake up at 2, 3 in the morning a couple of times and my wife's like what the heck are you doing? My body totally is not adjusted. Is it on East Coast time? Is it on Spanish time? English time? Western time? Fortunately, we've got a couple of weeks at home and I'll try to get as much rest as I can."
Oughton, a veteran traveler thanks in part to being on the New Zealand national team, has a sense of what Hejduk has been through.
"It's crazy what Frankie did," he said. "It's important to get into a sleep pattern of the place you're going as quickly as you can even if it means avoiding a longer nap when you get there. If you can sleep on planes it helps. I've learned to sleep on planes. Usually if it's a long trip you're sleeping through the night so if you can get four or five hours sleep on a 12-hour flight it can really help you when you get there."
It's not always easy. Hejduk bemoans the fact that MLS teams don't travel in luxury like teams in other professional sports or even major college athletic programs that often charter flights for their football and basketball teams.
"It's economy class and we get middle seats,' he said. "This isn't the NBA or the NFL and you have charters and don't have to go through security. We're not given any special privileges at all. Hopefully, one day in the future we'll be able to charter some planes and go that route. Fortunately with the U.S. team they fly us business class. We get to rest on those long trips."
On the Crew's most recent trip out to California the plane was stuck on the runway for two hours without air conditioning, Oughton said. On the way home, it was another 90-minute wait on the tarmac.
"You've just got to stay hydrated, getting up on the plane, trying to stay as professional as possible," Hejduk said. "It's tough some times in airports when you get delays and you're craving a brew here and there but you've got to stretch and stay well hydrated."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
