UK Eagles 12: Cheering for our fans

Alright, I need to break up some of the monotony of packing for a bit.

So, I spent all afternoon Thursday working on various things for school and work.  It wasn't particularly entertaining, but it was helpful to my psyche.  Then I got packed for the trading extravaganza/team BBQ.  Everyone made fun of my huge bag, but then understood my reasoning when they saw how much loot I had to work with.  There was a relatively casual BBQ that all the teams attended, then it was into the trading mayhem.  It was like auctioneering.  People were vying for Ireland's Puma fleeces and Wales' Under armor shorts, jockeying for position.  It continued back at the dorms for a long time with different teams coming out at various points.  Afterwards, everyone hung out at the dorms modeling their new schwag.  I spent some time hanging out talking with Cheeks and Farrah about how far we've come since death tour 2007 before heading off to bed.

I woke up late yesterday morning and ate a light breakfast of yogurt and cereal.  Then we had a meeting to go over the game plan for Canada as well as get selections for the match.  I am back in my favorite spot as #3.  I am excited to get back on the field.  It's been a while since I've played THP against Canada.  The past 4 times we've played I've played LHP, but I've been getting a lot of good THP time here, so I am excited 

We had lunch over at the dining hall before a light practice to go over some of the things in the game plan.  After practice, it was up to the pool for a quick recovery swim.  We spent  the evening supporting our supporters.  Some American fans set up a USA fans vs British Police rugby match.  We went as  a team to support the fans who have been so instrumental in keeping our spirits up throughout this long World Cup campaign.  We watched the game and then hung out socializing over pizza and fries.  Then we boarded back up into our Mercedes-Benz bus to head back to the sports park.

We got back a little before 10, so there was just a little time to read before heading to bed.

I woke up at 9:20 this morning to an email saying we needed to have our bikes up to the Surrey Sports Park by 9:30am.  Needless to say, I did not have my normal leisurely morning routine.  I hopped up and got dressed and pedaled over to turn Truman in.  It was another sad day.  First, I had to give back Alice in Maine and now Truman in England.  I am going to start having some issues.  After wishing adieu to Truman, I went in and ate some breakfast since I was over near the dining hall anyways.  Then I WALKED (le sigh) back over to the dorms and decided to start packing.  I realized that we leave in only two days and that once we get into game mode tomorrow there really won't be any time to do it, so now I'm in the midst of clothes and shoes and everything else under the sun.  Alright, back to the packing mayhem!