Thailand
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Friday November 5th
Saturday November 6th
Sunday November 7th
Monday November 8th
Tuesday November 9th
Wednesday November 10th
Thursday November 11th
November 12th - 18th
November 19th - 22nd
A diary from the
FIFA U-19 Women's World Cup
in Thailand, November 2004.
Well I made it, I'm here in
Bangkok, Thailand and I really do feel like I am on the other side of
the world.
I am starting the diary on Saturday because basically I didn't have Friday.
I guess I will start at the beginning
for those who don't know of my flight route, etc.
I left Edmonton on Thursday November 4th at 1000hrs to Vancouver. Had
a couple of hours layover in Vancouver,
then on the plane to Hong Kong at 1245 (BC time). 14 hours later I arrived
in Hong Kong (7pm Friday) and figured
out that I am 15 hours ahead of home. A couple of hours later en route
to Bangkok at 8:45pm. I arrived in Bangkok at
11:00pm, losing an hour to now being 14 hours ahead of home. So I got
to the hotel just before midnight on Friday
November 5th, 9:00 am in Edmonton Friday morning.
It was a good trip, although very very long. But flying first class definitely
helped make the flights much more enjoyable!
Everyone should fly first class at least once in their life, especially
for such a long flight. I had a very nice lady sitting
beside me for the long flight who is the Executive Director of international
affairs for the University College of Kamloops,
which I believe is the same University my cousin Lee is graduating from
very soon. She is an incredible lady who travels
every month to Vietnam, China, Thailand, India and the Middle East. She
was going to Bangkok as well, so was able to
give me much information and advice....especially about shopping! I learned
that I get to use the Airline lounge traveling
first class and we went there while in Hong Kong.....very cool!
I think I said it in my last diary while in Montreal, but I really need
to say it again. It is so comforting having someone waiting
for you at the airport with a big friendly smile and knows your name.
I was met inside the customs area and escorted out
with my bags. I was stopped as my bags were tagged to be checked at customs,
but because I had a FIFA representative
with me able to speak the language, she explained who I was and I was
let through with a big smile. It was such a relief!
She escorted me out of the airport to a driver who got me safely to the
hotel.
The weather here is a shock to my system. I took pictures leaving Edmonton
from the airplane in case people here didn't
believe me about the snow. When I arrived it was 29C and the most humidity
and smog I have ever felt. The air doesn't
move, it is very heavy, and I am very thankful that I have a few days
to try and adjust before the fitness test.
When I arrived at the hotel my bags were taken away from me and delivered
to my room with an extra Adidas bag full of
goodies.I made a quick call home and then tried to get some sleep as I
had to be up by 7:00 for breakfast then off to
all day meetings.
Sleep did not come easy.
adidas tracksuit as per the instruction sheet received at check-in. I am scheduled for a body composition test (fat test)
and weigh in at 0755, so went for breakfast in the banquet room of the hotel for the referees.
I met the rest of the CONCACAF officials there who I had previously met at the U19 Qualifications in Montreal/Ottawa.
We all had weigh-in together, then breakfast before meeting in the lobby at 0830 to travel by bus to the Plaza Hotel
where FIFA headquarters are located. We were there in meetings for the entire day. We met the 6 FIFA Instructors, one
being Sonia Denoncourt of Canada, and two from the USA, Sandra Hunt (recent ex-FIFA Ref) and Esse Baharmast
(ex-FIFA Ref) who was in Montreal at the qualifications. The Referee Committee members were also in attendance as
well as other FIFA delegates.
The meetings were interesting as we were told what the focus topics are for the Referees and the Assistant Referees.
Simulation and shirt pulling/holding are the major concerns of FIFA and are to be dealt with at this tournament. For the
AR's "wait and see technique" is to be used for Offsides as well as taking more responsibility in calling fouls. As you can
imagine with 37 officials and about 12 other representatives from around the world, language can be a problem. So
there were 6 interpreters at the back of the large room behind windows interpreting English, French, and Spanish.
Each official was equipped with their own headset when needed. It was pretty neat.
We had a very long day, ending finally around 6:30pm. We then walked to a nearby Thai restaurant for our banquet. That
was interesting to say the least with most of us going to bed hungry that night! We were presented shirts and pins from
FIFA and will be getting the traditional gift of a watch once they clear customs....I guess they have been held there for
unknown reasons for the past 3 days. It was then back on the bus and to the hotel by 11:00pm. Thank goodness by
11:30 I fell into a deep sleep.
breakfast by 7:00, then onto the bus at 7:30 to get to the training field outside of the Bangkok Stadium.
It is already 30 degrees and sunny and we train from 8:00 till 12:00. We have a fitness instructor from England who trains
the mens English Referees. We are each given heart monitors that will be tracking our progress during the tournament.
There are no studies completed on female official performance so they are beginning it now in hopes that some of us will
be around in 2007 for the next Womens World Cup and can be tracked over the next few years.
The training is light as we have the Cooper fitness test tomorrow morning. It is mostly just to get us out and moving
since getting off the planes, and maybe try to adjust to the weather. We mostly did practical training, splitting into the
AR's and the Refs. We had a local girls team come out to help with the practical training which was very beneficial. The
four hour training was very long and even though it was not too physically demanding, the fitness instructor said that we
did not have enough breaks or drink enough water. I ended up drinking 3 litres at the field and know that by 11:30 I was
feeling light headed. It was a very quiet ride back in the bus, with most of us burnt and sleepy!
We hit the showers and then met for lunch at hotel. All our meals are supplied at the hotel by FIFA. After lunch most went
to bed for a nap, while some of us went for a nap by the pool. The AR's from Norway, Austria, Germany, Australia, France
and I convinced the fitness instructor that we needed to acclimatize ourselves, and that would be best by the pool. It was
very nice and relaxing.
I then went for a massage at 6:00. We have 2 Thai women massage therapists who are solely for the Officials. They are
staying at the hotel with us and travel to training and games with us. Most of us had a massage today, trying to get the
legs loosened up from the long plane rides and be ready for tomorrow's test.
Dinner was all together at 7:30 and then we were on our own this evening. I took the chance to run for a computer to type
home, since there are only 4 computers for over 40 of us, it's not easy to get on one. The meals are very good here at the
hotel. We have our own chef for breakfast who will cook us anything, and lunch and dinner are a huge buffet of
Japanese, Chinese, Thai, and even a bit of pasta. There is lots of fresh fruit and desserts and none of us should be
going hungry.
We unfortunately lost one AR today. She is from Germany and her mother suddenly had a heart attack yesterday after
recently having heart bypass surgery. She decided that she wanted to go home and flights were immediately arranged
for her. It was nice to see how well she was taken care of by FIFA and sent home right away without any problems.
Well tomorrow is the big day that everyone gets all worried about. I'm feeling fine and am actually looking forward to it.
We are to be at breakfast at 6:30, on the bus by 7:30, and starting the fitness test at 8:00. It should take a couple of hours
to get everyone done, and then that's it for the day. Hopefully back in the pool after lunch with a smile on my face....
we'll see!
at 0530hrs and got up. I got a surprise wake-up call from my family at 0600hrs which was a great start to my day. I was
able to talk to my dad for the first time since leaving and it was nice telling him some quick stories and how things are
going. I was told to run to a computer to see a message from home as dad had taken a picture of Bob, Shaeley and
Derrin holding a sign saying "Go mommy go" and sent it to me. That was great and everyone here loved it too.
We had breakfast at 0630hrs and in the bus by 0730hrs to head to the Stadium. We were in for a surprise. Yesterday we
trained at a field outside of the stadium. We thought that was where we were doing the test today, but were taken into the
big stadium. It is the major Bangkok stadium, I can't spell the name of it, but it is on the FIFA web site, and holds over
60,000 people. Well the nerves were going and most of us headed right to the bathroom from the bus!
We were all assigned numbers and had to pin them to our shirts. I was number 20. We were told the schedule for the
testing. The Referees would have a 15 minute warm-up first, then start the 12 minute run. The AR's were to go sit in the
shade until the Refs started their run, then we had 15 minutes to warm-up. As soon as the Refs finished, the AR's
started. As soon as the AR's finished the 12 minute run, the Refs did the 50m run while the AR's cooled down. And we
switched back and forth to finish the sprints. Everyone passed which was not a surprise, at this level it is expected to
exceed the minimum standards, never mind just passing.
Did I say yesterday that I was looking forward to this? What was I thinking! It was a very hard run. Sunny, humid, and 32
degrees at 0830hrs!! (It got up to 36 today) No wonder we kept getting pushed into the shade whenever it was our turn to
rest. The heat on the track was unbelievable! Anyways, like I said, all is well.... we all got through it and survived.
We were back at the hotel by 1115hrs and in the pool by 1130hrs. It was such a relief to have the test over with and you
could feel the energy change in the group. We were allowed to stay at the pool for a couple of hours, then off to lunch.
Many of us did not feel like eating, but we are being closely watched and were forced to eat. In this heat you don't feel like
eating, plus you are drinking so much water that you don't really feel hungry until you are absolutely starving. By then they
say it is too late, so we have to force ourselves to eat real food (salad is not considered a food apparently as there is no
carbs....that was my lesson for the day!).
Then it was time for shopping! We have not had a chance to get out of the hotel yet. I think I said that Bangkok is
different, I was tired and didn't know what words I wanted to use to describe it, plus I had not had a chance to see much.
After a couple of hours in the city shopping I can say it is very noisy, busy, smelly, and poor. The people are very friendly
and gentle, but it is so poor. There are "shanties" I guess I would call them...I don't know, not even slums. Shacks built
from old wood or sheets of metal put up anywhere there is a piece of unused land. They are outside our hotel. My view
overlooks the highway, surrounded by these shacks and skinny starving dogs walking everywhere. We are not allowed
to leave our hotel unless it is in a bus, it is too dangerous. I would be more worried about all those starving wild dogs
than the poor people! And the hotel is not within walking distance to anything anyways, so we are always on the bus.
The traffic is brutal....worse than Toronto or Montreal. It took us over 90 minutes to get back to the hotel after shopping
and it should have only taken 30. There are scooters and motorbikes zipping around everywhere.... it looks very
dangerous. There was a family of 4, 2 children the same age as my own with their parents on a motorbike! And of
course they don't just patiently wait in traffic like the rest of us, they are in and out and cutting of vehicles driving very
dangerously, nobody wearing helmets. I probably sound like a mother and a police officer, but it makes your stomach
flip to see it!
In the block we walked to get from our bus to the shopping mall in the downtown area of Bangkok I wish I could have
taken a picture that would have captured the feeling.....the smells of food cooking alongside the entire sidewalk, the
smell of the heat, heavy smog and garbage, the noise of the cars and motorbikes, whistles as police try and direct
traffic, and all the people. It's pretty overwhelming. It was worth it though.....great shopping, great prices. Everything is
so cheap!
We were back late to the hotel due to the traffic and went straight into our meeting with the Instructors and Referee
committee members. Appointments were announced for Wednesday's opening games. Surprisingly both CONCACAF
crews are not appointed....I think this is a first. We are disappointed, but I think it is because we have traveled the
farthest and are being given the extra couple of days to further adjust. A couple of us are fighting colds, and all of us are
still very tired. The good news is that my trio of Virginia TOVAR (MEX Ref) and Rita MUNOZ(MEX AR) are flying to Chiang
Mai for Saturday's game of Brazil vs Nigeria. There are games in Bangkok (where Canada is playing), in Phuket (where
the USA is playing), and Chiang Mai. The officials are having to fly out for the games, then right back to Bangkok to
continue the training, etc. The Instructors are appointed to cities and will be staying there the duration. Sandra Hunt of
USA is going to Chiang Mai so I am really looking forward to spending some time with her. Sonia and Esse are staying
in Bangkok to handle the training and games in Bangkok....they will be very busy. I am looking forward to seeing another
part of Thailand, and Chiang Mai is supposed to be beautiful. It is in the northern part and considered a jungle in the
mountains. There is supposed to be excellent shopping there too...I can't wait! The FIFA web site had an article on the
officials and explained how the traveling will work if anyone wants to have a look. We have been followed for the past
few days by the official FIFA photographer who is apparently taking photos for the web site, and of course he was there
today for the fitness test too.
We were then off to a very late dinner, then it was the mad dash to the computers. I have been taking lots of pictures and
will try and get them sent off one of these days....they are really good and I would love to share them. So it's off to bed.
We have breakfast at 0700hrs and off to training at 0800hrs. I expect the training session to be very hard since Sunday's
was not. The practical training after will also be demanding. There were a lot of mistakes and concentration problems on Sunday and by the end Jose Maria was doing a lot of yelling in Spanish and English. The yelling was deserved and
I was glad that the Instructors are getting tough. We will see what tomorrow brings.
was 0500hrs, better than yesterday, but still early. Oh well, it seems to be getting a bit later each day so we will see.
I have been offered sleeping pills that others are using, but have refused as I want to try and get into a routine on my
own. I don't think it will take much longer....I say with my fingers crossed!
So it was breakfast at 0630hrs with the CONCACAF crew. It was not planned, but worked out good that we were all there
at the same time and could be together. It doesn't happen often as the Spanish speaking ladies usually stick very
closely together as none of them speak any English. This makes it very difficult for me as the other 2 in my trio are
Mexican, and after our pep talk at last night's meeting, each trio is supposed to try and connect as much as possible.
The Spanish stick together and I have been hanging with the Europeans mostly as I have the most in common with
them. Hege (pronounced Hega) Steinlund, Norway AR, and I have become close as we have a lot in common...
especially the pool and shopping! We have been having a lot of fun with the AR's from Austria, Netherlands, Croatia,
and Australia.
We were on the bus by 0730hrs and to the training field. Remember how hot I said it was yesterday, well I was wrong....
it was even hotter. Yesterday was 38 degrees, and today 40! When we got to the field the local girls team helping us out
with the practical sessions was already there, so we had about a quick 30 minute warm up including some sprint work.
We were soaken wet, I have never sweat so much in my life! We then went into practical training, divided into AR's and
Refs. The AR's did much the same training as the first day as Sonia was not happy with the outcome. There were many
basic mistakes, plus concentration problems....Sonia has her hands full getting everyone up to standard. That is one
thing I must say, it may have taken me much longer to get to where I am than other AR's here, but the standards are
high in Canada and when we finally do make it, we are noticeably better trained and experienced than most others. I am
very proud to represent CONCACAF as we have a great crew with high standards and expectations.
We did practical training for about 3 hours, then the officials who have games tomorrow were taken back to the hotel to
get out of the heat. The rest of us had to then do a bit of training. I thought it was going to be much worse. We had to run
an obstacle course that was set on the entire field. It took about 2 minutes to finish it, then you rested for about
2 minutes before going another round. We only had to do it a few times, then were allowed to have water and cool down.
It was not what we were supposed to do, but I think that by the time we started it, it was just too hot. I'm glad the fitness
instructor realizes this, it's probably because she is from England and having problems adjusting to the heat as well.
After the obstacle course we played some volleyball, then had a cool down and stretch and back on the bus at 1230hrs.
Most of us fell asleep on the way back to the hotel, we were drained from the heat.
It was into the showers then downstairs for lunch. After lunch the Instructors had meetings at the Plaza Hotel, FIFA HQ,
regarding tomorrow's opening games so we had the afternoon to ourselves. I'm sure you can guess where I and the
Europeans ended up.....yup, the pool! Where else would you want to be when it is 40 degrees! We stayed there until
6:00pm and watched the sun go down into the smoggy sky. No beautiful sunsets like we have at home. We then met
for supper at 7:30pm where I handed out my gifts. I was provided many things from the Canadian Soccer Association
to hand out as well as toss coins and pins from the EDSRA. Wayne Telfer also gave me some coins and flag carriers
which I tried to carefully hand out to a variety of countries to help promote his web site. The carriers went to AR's from Venezuela, Italy, Croatia, Japan and South Africa (if I remember right) and they and the toss coins were a big hit!
So that was today. The 8 officials for tomorrow's opening games in Chiang Mai left at 5:00pm and should be back
Thursday morning. The other 8 going to Phuket leave tomorrow evening for the opening games on Thursday. The rest
of us without games get to go to the opening ceremonies tomorrow afternoon at 3:00pm. We are thrilled to be able to
experience it all from the stands and I get to see Canada play their first game. The Referee crew is from UEFA with the
girls that I am very close to. Sasha from Czechoslavakia is the Referee with Beleshinka from Croatia and Hege from
Norway the AR's. In case you see her on tv, Hege is the Junior AR and I am sure will do a fine job. She has been a FIFA
AR for 6 years.
Tomorrow will be a very busy day with training from 0800-1200hrs, back to the hotel to shower and lunch, then back on
the bus at 1:30pm to head to the opening ceremonies that start at 3:00pm. The kick-off for the first game with the home
team Thailand is at 5:00pm. Canada plays in the second game at 7:45. Since we probably won't be back at the hotel
until after 10:00pm I may not have a chance to write, but I will try.
We noticed much more advertising and signs en route to the stadium today and had many spectators stopping to watch
us. It's getting exciting and I expect to have butterflies in my stomach tomorrow, even if I am not on the field. I am feeling
the energy and can't wait for my first game!
hot again, I guess that sounds repetitious, but we are not getting used to it at all. 37 degrees when we start training,
and over 40 by the time we finish.
Training started with warm-ups in our trios, practicing our routines that we will use before our matches. Then we
separated into our groups, AR's and Refs for the technical training for two and a half hours. It was very good and the
intensity is getting bumped up each day. We, the AR's, are focusing a great deal on offsides, and getting into trickier
plays with many players in an offside position, but using the "wait and see" technique to ensure a correct offside
decision. The girls soccer team from Bangkok is waiting for us each morning at the field and are doing an incredible job
helping us out, they work very hard and it is so nice to see their smiling faces each morning. Thailand is called the land
of smiles and that describes perfect the people here....very friendly.
The AR's and Refs then did training together, similar to yesterday, but again increasing the intensity. After the technical
training, those officials flying out to Phuket later in the day were sent back to the hotel to rest. As there are 2 games today
in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, those officials had the day off of training, so that did not leave many of us left for fitness
training, but it was still done! It actually was a lot of fun and I am really enjoying it. We did speed endurance work,
meaning sprints. We ran an obstacle course the width of the field at 100% speed then recovered for 30 seconds, then
did it again. This was done seven times, then we had a cool down and played a quick game of volleyball. We finished
our training a bit early today as we are rushed to get back to the hotel, shower, lunch, then get back on the bus at 1:30
to head to the opening ceremonies.
We arrived at the stadium at 2:00 and you could feel the energy. My stomach had butterflies as soon as we pulled up
as there were people everywhere. We entered through the VIP gates which are under the field area. This is where we
entered last time we were here for our fitness test. We walked up the stairs onto the track and it is not at all like it was
a few days ago when the stadium was empty. The noise was unbelievable. Almost all of the officials gasped or grabbed
their stomachs as it was an intense feeling. We are on the track at field level surrounded by people who were already
cheering and singing, it was incredible. We had excellent seats in the VIP section and anxiously awaited the start of
the ceremonies.
As I was sitting there taking everything in, I was fighting back the tears of excitement, accomplishment, and nerves.
Not only had I made it here, but all these people came to see it. Imagine the stadium, it is huge, seating over 60,000.
Three-quarters of the stadium is concrete benches, and half of that is on the one side in full sun. The VIP section of
course was on the shady side with regular stadium seats. When we walked into the stadium, the side in the sun with
the concrete benches was half full and filling in by the minute. These people came to watch womens soccer, sitting in
the 40 degree heat on burning hot concrete benches. And they stayed there for over 5 hours until the Thailand vs. Germany
game ended. 40,000 people! I know by the time Canada played almost all the people had gone home, so I guess it did
not look good on tv, but believe me they were there earlier.
The opening ceremonies were wonderful showing the culture of Thailand and each host city of Bangkok, Chiang Mai,
and Phuket. I took a lot of pictures and Sonia is going to help me get access to a computer so that I can add them to the
diary. I hope very soon, but it probably won't be until after the weekend as I am leaving tomorrow evening for Chiang Mai
for a couple of days. The girls team that helps us out in training attended the opening ceremonies. They were on the
same side as us, just a lot higher in the upper level. I think that they were surprised that we recognized them going up
to their seats. They are shy so a couple of us waved to them, then suddenly the whole team was running down with
their families hanging over the wall waving...it was very sweet. It is nice for us to have a connection to young players as
well. We were very happy to see that after the opening ceremonies, the girls were brought down to sit in the section next
to us for the Thailand game. They were thrilled and we were very happy for them.
So that was the day. We were at the stadium for over 8 hours and exhausted from the heat. The bus ride back to the
hotel was the quietest it has ever been as we all fell asleep. I was too tired to write home, it was straight into a cold
shower, then fast asleep. What a great day!
My day started wonderful with
a wake-up call from home. Glad to hear everything is good, except for
the snow. I guess
I can stop complaining about the heat eh? We trained today from 0800-1200
hrs. It was 37 degrees (just had to get that
in there!). We did the usual warming up, then splitting into our 2 groups.
The AR's continued to work on tricky plays in
"their" area, offsides, deflections, etc. trying to ensure correct
decisions and mechanics. Sonia is doing an awesome
job with the AR's. She has such knowledge and experience not only in the
sessions, but in explaining why she is
training a certain way, or why she is demanding perfection, etc. She is
friendly and approachable, but also hard and
demanding when she needs to be and that is understandable and respected.
I have been so fortunate to have her
helping me at home, as what she is trying to teach the AR's here are things
I have already learned.
We did approximately 40 minutes of fitness training today, but it was
a lot of fun. We split into 4 teams of 4 and played
4 minutes of high intensity soccer with a 3 minute break between each
game. We played each team and I have to say
that my team comprised of the Canadian, Jamaican, and 2 Aussies won the
tournament! We then did speed work with
10 minutes of sprints and ended with our traditional game of volleyball.
The 2 Canadians (me and Sonia) with the
Jamaican, Japanese, Chinese, and Australian won that too. It was a good
day for me, but I was drained and fell asleep
on the bus back to the hotel.
We had a quick lunch, then back on the bus at 2:00 to go to the Grande
Palace. It was great to get to see another part of
Bangkok. We went through China town and many of us are really hoping to
get the chance to come back, the shopping
looked incredible! The Grande Palace belongs to the King, and right now
the Princess resides there. It is definitely
grand and very beautiful. We were taken on an official tour and were allowed
into the temple with the Buddha. We
learned about the religion and the traditions that you must follow. We
all wore our Adidas polo shirts and tracksuits as
we had to have sleeves covering our arms to the elbows, and pants covering
to the ankles. We were not allowed to wear
sandals as our toes had to be covered. Inside the temple you must sit,
and cannot point your feet at Buddha. It was very
interesting and I took many pictures, but not inside the temple as it
is not allowed.
We then returned back to the hotel at 5:00 and many of us wanted to go
shopping so we walked to a tiny market a
couple of blocks from the hotel. As we were walking to this market we
have to go through a very poor area and you will
not believe what we saw. There is an eating area in the trees on the side
of the road, very dirty, made of scrap sheet
metal, surrounded by dogs, etc. As we pass by I notice a newer looking
mid-size television propped up on some wood
and garbage and it is showing the U-19 WWC game between USA and Korea
that is playing at the moment from
Phuket! We could not believe it! Soccer is very big here. We have 20 channels
at the hotel, and 3 of them constantly
show "football", but you would never expect it in these places
you see on the side of the road.
We got to the market and it was already closed, so we returned to the
hotel and watched the rest of the USA game.
We had a hard time getting it at the hotel and almost had to go back to
the "restaurant" on the street to watch it. That
was not allowed so the hotel worked hard and was able to find the game
for us to watch in safety. We then went for
dinner and returned to watch the second game together, but we lost the
game after a short while. We don't know why,
that just sometimes happens here. It's the same with the phone, many times
you just loose the line for unknown
reasons, my husband knows all about that!
So the day ended with me here on the computer catching up with my diary.
I have just been told that I am flying out
tomorrow evening at 7:30 for Chiang Mai with Virginia and Rita. Sasha
who was the Referee yesterday on Canada's
game will be our 4th official. We are also flying with the Australian
crew who are on the first game. As we are on the
second game, we are to be staying the night in Chiang Mai and flying back
the next morning (Sunday). The officials
who just came back from Chiang Mai say that the mosquitoes are horrendous.
Thank goodness I brought my
mosquito repellant with me!
I will be training in the morning, then after lunch packing my suitcase.
We leave the hotel at 5:00 so I will not be able
to add to my diary until Sunday. I am looking forward to my game and anxious
to get on the field. There were 4500
spectators for the first games, so it is a good crowd to start off with,
not 40,000 like in Bangkok. We will work our way
up to that.
On the first Brazil game in Chiang Mai I heard that there were 7 yellow
cards. Knowing that we are to be focusing on
simulation and shirt pulling, I am not surprised. Nigeria is apparently
strong and lost their first game to China by only
1 goal, but they were the better team and should have won. It should be
a very good game on Saturday and we are
ready. I will tell you all about it on the weekend.