Welcome back for another edition of Jamie's Journal hot off the soccer field. I would like to take a second to thank all of you dedicated readers out there who tuned in earlier this week for the inaugural entry of Jamie's Journal.
Going along with the theme of thanking people for helping to keep my journal going, I would like to thank the editors who thought it would be extremely amusing to put that God-awful picture of me with my "game face" on during one of our preseason games earlier this week. In case you didn't get a chance to read the article, or see the horrible picture, here is a link that will take you to
the first installment of Jamie's Journal
. (I received plenty of "compliments" from several people saying that if my writing career didn't work out, I could always send my picture in to modeling agencies and explore that avenue.) Anyway, on to this week's long-awaited entry into Jamie' Journal.
Goal of the day
I would like to introduce a new idea of mine that I thought might spark some interest amongst the readers. I thought that it would be interesting to fans if I described a "Goal of the Day" from a practice or game in each article that I write. Today's winner is Matt Behncke. The "ginormous" Behncke leaped over everyone in the middle of the 18 to head home a Clint Mathis corner kick in the 25th minute versus Kansas City this past Thursday to give us a crucial 1-0 lead. This wasn't just any regular header, this was a crushing header that found the lower right-hand corner of the net and got everyone off the bench and even got several "wows" from the players. Congratulations Behncke, you are today's winner of the "Goal of the Day."
Feature player of the day
Now on to everyone's favorite part of the journal, Feature Player of the Day. Today I thought we would switch gears a little bit from last time and go with one of the younger guys on the team making a name for himself while in camp with Real Salt Lake. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Luke Kreamalmeyer.
Luke has been a very nice addition so far in camp as he has two goals and one assist so far in five games with the team and done very well for himself. He's even done well enough to earn himself the nickname "Laser Luke" from several of the fellas on the team. Luke has been on a tear as of late, starting off with garnering the MVP award of the 2005 MLS Combine in January and then being drafted 37th overall a few days later at the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. Then, after arriving in camp, Luke has gone on a hot streak of excellent performances during practices and, most noticeably, in games. However, when you talk to Luke about his play, he is very quiet and shy and doesn't boast about his success.
In getting to know Luke these past few weeks, I have learned he is really close to his family and even has his own "Luke K. Fan Club." These people include his close-knit family: mom Gayla, dad Cody, sisters Brooke, (25) Kami, (21) and brother Tad, (15) and the Sun Life Christian Church back home in Collonsville, Ill. where he has been a devoted member since his days in diapers. (Don't worry fans in Salt Lake, Luke will be accepting applications for entry into his fan club very soon.)
Luke is a really laid-back kind of guy who enjoys spending his time playing video games and watching one of the many DVD's he owns. Basically, he is a real down to earth kid who has his head on straight and knows what really is important in life.
Then there is the crazy side of Luke that has come out as his comfort level has increased around his new-found family of teammates. For the very first week, I think Luke said a total of 12 words – and probably even less on the field – due to his shyness. But that all changed about a week into camp when we were at dinner one night and Luke joined in on some conversation, sparking DJ Countess to stop the conversation and announce that Luke said his very first words since being down here.
Since that evening he has been very open and has been a very out-going around all the guys now. One thing he likes to talk about is his younger brother, Tad. According to Luke, Tad will become a better player than he is when all is said and done. If that's the case then we need to get Lil' Kreamalmeyer in an RSL jersey ASAP to form a deadly combo of Kreamalmeyer brothers. Well folks, there you have it, this has been Luke Kreamalmeyer for you. Tune in next week to see who the next feature player of the day is.
I thought it might be fun to get Luke's opinion on some very important issues, so we played a little word association. Word association is where I say a word and Luke gives me his first response. Here goes nothin' ...
Favorite video game:
Halo 2(Xbox).
Favorite Food:
Steak.
Bradenton, Fla.:
Seems all right.
Bradenton, Fla. after 2.5 weeks:
Gets old quick!
DJ Countess:
Free entertainment.
Jason Kreis:
Great player, nice person.
Boxers or briefs:
Boxers. Actually, both. (there you go ladies)
Favorite vacation spot?
Hawaii
Rookie initiation:
Stupid (A note from Jamie: We rookies are praying we avoid rookie initiation this year.)
Most importantly, my journal:
(laughs) Umm ... It's all right.
There you have it, a little insight into the thinking of Luke Kreamalmeyer.
To the readers:
Since this journal is for you, I thought it would be a good idea to include you in what is written about each week. This includes thoughts or ideas about certain players you would like to get to know a little bit better. Also, I will introduce in the next edition the question of the week where I will take one fan's question to anyone on the team and ask them and post their reply to your question. So send an email to
jamie@realsaltlake.com
with your questions, comments, feedback, whatever. Remember this is for you, so be creative, because you're the ones reading it and, if you have a really good idea, I'm going to steal it and not give you any credit whatsoever! (Just kidding!)
Thanks for tuning in and check back in with us in the days to come as we will be taking our travels across the pond into the beautiful country of Portugal! This trip promises to be a good one so check in for the first report coming the day after we get in with full details of the trip over and first practice report! Take care everyone.
