|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
No worries, mate
Kristine Lilly is the all-time appearance leader and third all-time leading scorer for the U.S. Women's National Team. The midfielder from Wilton, Conn., was a member of the U.S. teams that won the 1999 World Cup and 1996 Olympic Games. Lilly also played on four national championship teams at the University of North Carolina. Lilly is training for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Check out Lilly's diary every other week on CNNSI.com.
June 4, 2000
Good day, mate. Well, here we are in Australia. We have been here for over a week. It took us 13 1/2 hours to get here and about three to four days to get used to the time change. Australia is 14 hours ahead of the East Coast, so the first three nights I was getting up around 5:30 a.m.... it was a bit crazy. Well to start off we spent five days in Canberra, the nation's capital. It snowed twice and the Australians say it never snows here and, of course, when we are here it snows. It was freezing, too, so that didn't make us too happy. We all were in our sweats and our hats for those five days and stayed in our rooms because it was cold. Our first practice was inside a school gymnasium and it had to be the funniest thing I have seen in a while. We all got into the gym and, like kids in grade school, we were playing like we were at recess. We had a group playing basketball, another group playing volleyball and my group was playing four square and it was so much fun. April let us do that for the first 40 minutes and then she called us in and, like kids, we pouted that recess was over. Afterwards, me and Millie were talking about how funny it was, how much fun we had and how we were all spazzes after being on the plane for so long. Our first hotel was in the middle of nowhere and a couple people saw some kangaroos but I have yet to see one. If you don't already know, it is currently Australia's winter, and I am losing my tan as we speak. After going through winter in the States this is the last season I want to be in. However, we are outside Sydney right now and it is a bit warmer. It feels like late fall when the sun is shining. Tomorrow we get to go hang out in Sydney because we have the day off. It is our first day off, and we all are happy about it. We get to spend about three to four hours shopping and sightseeing so that will be nice. On the soccer side of this trip, we have played three games. We lost to China in the last five minutes. Millie almost tied it, but just missed. So that didn't make us too happy, but we have to learn from our losses and move on. That was the first time we had played them since the World Cup, and they were good, so we know what to expect as the Olympics rolls around. We then played Canada and beat them 9-0. We played a lot better and finished with a lot of goals. Today we played New Zealand and beat them 5-0. So since the loss we have played better soccer so that is a plus. We have two games left against Japan and Australia so wish us luck. Last night me, Julie, Sara, Brandi, Nikki, our coach and a couple of staff members went and saw "Mission Impossible 2" with Tom Cruise. It was definitely entertaining, but a bit unrealistic. Still, I recommend it -- especially for all you Tom Cruise lovers. One of my favorite moments so far on this trip was when we were warming up before the Canada game. We were warming up on a cricket field and someone noticed in the sky part of a rainbow. We all looked and we were like, "Cool." Then a couple minutes later, I look up and there is the full rainbow. I think I have seen maybe one full rainbow before, and it was just amazing. It was one of those moments in which you wish you had your camera but instead you take a picture and stick it in your memory. One thing about taking long trips with this team is you spend a lot of time chatting after dinner or other meals. Conversations can be about old times, life, love, families, or just filled with laughter, and it is those times that you remember and keep close to you. Soccer is the reason we are all here but it isn't the only thing that keeps us working as a team. We enjoy our down time and the time we spend sharing our lives and helping each other during the long days. There are days when you can't sleep anymore and you get up and go down for some coffee or tea and there is someone there usually to chat with. It is as simple as that, someone to talk to. Oh, I just remembered, we also had the Olympic draw and we got our groups. Our group is USA, China, Norway and Nigeria. The other group is Australia, Sweden, Germany, and Brazil. Either way you look at, this coming Olympics is going to be a tough one. We are excited and going to work to get ready for those first three games in Sydney. Well, it is now 9:45 p.m. my time and I am getting ready to go to bed and people on the East Coast are just getting ready to start their Sunday morning while I sleep my Sunday night away. Until next time, no worries, mate. Enjoy the moments with friends but more importantly make more, and more moments. --Kristine
Join Kristine Lilly in supporting the March of Dimes.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
