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Living my dream
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. Keep in touch as Lilly will check in from Sydney at CNNSI.com.
Melbourne, Australia September 12, 2000
Welcome to the Winter, I mean Summer Olympics. OK. So it isn't so hot or nice here in Melbourne, but it has gotten better as the week has progressed. It isn't raining today which is a big plus, the wind is still blowing hard and the sun came out for an hour or so. So far this has been a pretty good morning. I'm sitting in our common room, where we all gather to play board games, watch movies, chat, Email, or just hang. Right now, I'm in here with Lorrie, Cindy, Sara and we are watching The Bodyguard. Well, where should I start... We have almost been here a week. Our first three games are here in Melbourne, and then the semis and finals are in Canberra or Sydney. Unfortunately we haven't been in Sydney, but we are going to the Opening Ceremonies on Thursday. We are all pretty darn happy about that. Going to the Opening Ceremonies in Atlanta really let us know we were at the Olympics, so it will be a great experience for all of us. The hotel we are at is like a small village. A lot of soccer teams are at our hotel -- some men, some women. The men's teams are Chile, Morocco, Italy and Australia. The women's teams are Norway, Sweden, Brazil and the U.S. You can't get anywhere without your credentials on. On one floor there is the common area for all the teams. They have video games, pool, foosball, and this car racing game. The biggest hit is the car racer. Joy has been the queen of that game. She is Ms. Speedster. We have spent some of our time walking around town, shopping, or just hanging out. The other night we went to exhibition games of the men's and women's basketball teams. It was a lot of fun. We got to go down to the women's locker room to wish them luck after their game. They are a crazy bunch. We came in and everyone was high-fiving and then they started singing, "Who let the dog's out." It was great. I decided that the basketball team was just like us except they can sing and dance better. So that was a good time and then we watched the men's game after. On the soccer side of things, we have one more practice today, have an off day tomorrow and then game day. Yea-hoo! Practice has been going well in general. We have practiced at three different fields, some being 45 minutes away. After yesterday's practice our coach got us a little snack of doughnuts and sodas. It was a nice treat seeing that our drive was 45 minutes. I haven't had the greatest week at practice seeing I have lost the majority of my competitions. You know, losing isn't fun whether it is in practice or in games. I had one day in which I was so worked up I almost cried. Jules and I haven't been so fortunate at practice and misery loves company. Lucky to have teammates to help get you through and get you ready for the games. We are getting ready for Norway, which is our first opponent. It is hard to believe that it is finally here. We are ready and have been ready for the Olympics to start. Our families are starting to show up, starting today and tomorrow. That will be nice to have them all around. I just talked to mine yesterday. I think my mom packed and repacked four times. They are very excited, and they are flying as I speak. Unfortunately, my brother and his fiancée can't make it, but I know they will be watching. Hi guys. My cousin Jimmy is coming to our game vs. Nigeria. So I am psyched about that. Besides that, the rest of my family and friends are at home in the U.S. We had a special surprise from our sports psychologist. She got our parents to put a video together of their daughter. They could do anything they wanted, be funny show old pictures or just talk. It was great. So we set aside two nights to watch the videos. They were amazing and hilarious. The best part was watching how they put the videos together, because a lot of them did it themselves. It was great to see little baby pictures of my teammates and it was a nice surprise. Now all we have to do is get back at Hacker because she embarrassed all of us and we had nothing on her. Only in time. Well as I sign off, The Bodyguard is just about to end and another movie will then go in. We will get ready for practice, join in the common room some more, have a team meeting or two, laugh a lot, sleep, eat, greet our families, send Email, chat with each other, get massages, watch our imagery tapes and prepare for Norway. There is a moment when you realize your dreams are coming true and as I write to you I embrace that I am living my dream. Enjoy the Olympic Games and embrace those athletes out there that are doing their best for their countries and living their dreams. Thanks to my family and friends for helping me get here and for continuing to support me through it all. Thanks to my fans and our team's fans for their never-ending support. G'day mate. --Kristine
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