Brandi's Blog
My Thoughts Beforw The USA-Japan World Cup Final
Hours are counting down til kick-off and I am sitting next to my friend, teammate and lead game analyst Julie Foudy.
We have been batting back and forth ideas of what could happen, what will happen and how the game will be concluded. It is fun, and I say that not to take this lightly, but to explain how much I love this game and the people involved. We love to be here, to see the plots unfold and feel the tension ratchet up exponentially as we get closer and closer to the biggest game of the last four years. Competition is a great character exposer. It shows an individuals spirit, composure, talent, strength as well as its flaws. If each player was interviewed (and I am sure they all have been and are beyond tired of it) there would be 42 different impressions of how to prepare, how to approach and how to play under these circumstances. Japan will be a mighty opponent for the USA today because they have the power of a country at odds catapulting them, if not praying for their ascension . It is undeniable that a win for their country would do wonders for the collective spirit and perhaps, on some level heal some wounds that would otherwise last an eternity. I feel deeply for the Japanese players, because as a first timer in the final, you WANT to win, but statistics are not in their favor. And no matter the outcome, there will be tears, some of joy, some of exhaustion and others of sadness. For those who have never been in a final, don’t say to them, “well, at least you got there”, because for this group their play has been worthy of a championship. They have delighted and astounded teams and fans alike with a quality of play that has been, and deservedly so, compared to Barcelona because they enjoy football/soccer in way that is refreshing to the women’s game. I hope they are used as an example of how the game can be played in the future, for the development of women’s soccer. But, since that is not the style of the US, and I am a LOYAL US fan now, I hope we start focusing on that after this World Cup final.
Enjoy everyone, and I look forward to hearing about your Final game experiences and how you celebrated.
Cheers,
Brandi
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Couldn’t have been put more perfectly ...
I think the biggest thing to stand out to me was the “For those who have never been in a final, don’t say to them, “well, at least you got there”, because for this group their play has been worthy of a championship.“
To any true athlete, nothing beats the feeling of that final win, when you know you left everything you had out on the field. It’s so much more than playing a “game” ... it’s passion, guts, determination, fate, and a love like no other for the most amazing sport in the world.
Thank you to you and The US Women’s Soccer team for some of the most priceless moments I have ever experienced. Meeting you in Wolfsburg was truly an honor and a dream come true.
As for the 2011 WWC, for the rest of my life, I can say “I was there!“.
Now it’s time to finish what we started!
S. Colonna
believeinsomething.org
Posted: 07/17/2011 @ 6:56
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