Womens Olympic Soccer Team 2012 Win BRONZE!

Photo by COC Mike Ridewood

Seriously, how sweet was this game!  After that heartbreaking loss to the United States by unbelievable calls made by FIFA ref, Christina Pedersen of Norway.  The girls really deserved to be playing in the gold medal game instead of the bronze.  Some people thought this match would be a tough one for our girls as they had to face France for the medal.  I woke up at 5am to watch our girls win although at times it looked like it wasn't a game going the Canadian teams way with France getting chance after chance at our net.  Their very best could not put the ball in the net.  They managed to kick it everywhere else around the net but never inside.  The Canadian team waited patiently and played defensively for most of it.  But once Diane Matheson found an opening, she made sure they nailed it in the last minute of play.  How dramatic was that! 

The wave of emotion I felt for these girls was overwhelming for me.  Fourteen of these girls once played for the Vancouver Whitecaps when I worked as an Usher at Swangard.  My connection to them goes as far back as 2006 when I first started volunteering for them.  Watching the women play were always a treat for all of us ushers.  I got to be around them again for the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament held earlier in this year in January at BC Place.  I can't tell you how awesome it was to see Christine Sinclair smile when she won the Bronze medal.   She's always been my favourite and she's a super nice person too.

The girls flew back after the closing ceremonies and were greeted at YVR wtih a throng of fans to welcome them back.  It was amazing to see that.  They truly were the shining light in the Olympics for Canada!  Way to go girls!

Being welcomed back at YVR

Diana Matheson scored the only goal and winner of the Bronze Medal game.

Kalyn Kyle, former Whitecaps player and Bronze medalist.

Christine Sinclair, Captain and Bronze medalist of the Canadian Women's National Soccer Team.

The Vancouver Whitecaps held a ceremony for the CWNT on August 15th.  I had the pleasure of running into Sophie Schmidt and Karina LeBlanc in the suites at Gate H while helping an another men's alumni player a the time.  The two had just come through the gates to go to suites after signing autographs in the Bell Box during the Kick Off festivities on the Plaza.  As they walked in, they saw my alumni, D'arcy Boulton, who played for the men's team in 2006.  They gave each other hugs and then I had the opportunity to see their medals and congratulate them.   I truly am very happy for these girls.  I hope to see them again in 2015 for the FIFA Women's World Cup which I will also be a part of. 

Here's  the game winning goal by Diana Matheson, incase you missed it.

Re-Cap of Women's Olympic Qualifying Games So Far..Day 5

Courtesy of cbc.ca

January 23, 2012

Haiti vs Cuba 3-0
Canada vs. Costa Rica  5-1

As I waited for my shift to start sitting in the Volunteer Lounge, it became obvious that we were short-staffed for this game.   There were some no-shows on top a lot of volunteers being cut for the game that day so they wouldn't be sitting around with nothing to do. Although Canada was playing that night, it wasn't considered to be a very busy double header in the Hospitality area so it was pulled for the night and my team was disbanded and sent to other areas where they were short-staffed, such as Marketing and Media.  I was put on a team called the "back of house".  It was mainly just my friend and fellow volunteer, Carmen and a guy named Peter and myself. 

This job entailed Carmen and I going into the dressing rooms of the teams, introducing ourselves to them and letting them know that if they needed anything, to let us know.  Peter could only go into the rooms once they were out....he is a guy afterall.  So he would wait patiently while Carmen and I would go check it things out first.  Also, we were to take care of their dressing rooms before and after the game.  This meant making sure they had enough towels, product and ice in their rooms.  If not, we were to replenish those items.  We also went into the rooms after their matches to "tidy up" a bit.  Which meant picking up dirty towels (using gloves of course), throwing out the used drink bottles and banana peels and whatever else they left behind.  The BC Place cleaning crew would come later and do a more thorough cleaning.

I realized two things during this shift.  One, the Spanish I learned from watching Dora the Explorer with my neices really wasn't cutting it and two, that I shouldn't be wearing boots with heels when I have to run around so much on an 6 hr shift.

During the first match with Cuba vs Haiti, Carmen and I had walked into the Canadian Team's dressing room to introduce ourselves and just at that moment, Haiti scored their 2nd goal on the tv screen and all the girls on the team jumped up with excitement that they had scored.  It was genuine happiness for Haiti and it was wonderful to see that kind of sportsmanship shown by our Canadian team.  Trust me, you can be proud of them, Canada.  Its alot more than I can say for another powerhouse team at the tournament.  But I digress.  I wished them luck that night and left the room with Carmen to find team Costa Rica to make sure they were ok.

The crowd picked up during the Canada game.  I was going thru my twitter updates on my downtime and saw that four Canucks had come down to the game. David Booth had received tickets from Team Canada's Kaylyn Kyle and he brought Manny Malhotra, Dale Weise and Chris Higgins (Chiggy) with them.  They were in the Hospitality area that night.  Looks like its right in front of the Canadian Team's suite.  Figures the one night I don't work the suites and they show up!!  Oh well, it sounded like they had a great time.

Here is a pic of some lucky fans who got to meet the boys after the game.

Other than that it was  another great night as Canada won the match 5-1.  It was the first time in the tournament that the opposing team was able to score a goal.  Good on Costa Rica.  The Canadian goals came from Christine Sinclair (2), Sophie Schmidt, Kaylyn Kyle and a goal from Costa Rica when their defender sent and innocent looking pass towards her own goalkeeper who missed the ball and wasn't able to stop it from going into her own net. 

The Canadian "SouthSiders" were also out in full effect.  They kept the spirit up with songs like "We all dream of a world of Kaylyn Kyle, A world of Kaylyn Kyle, A World of Kaylyn Kyle."  and the every popular "Holy Schmidt! Holy Schmidt!"

There was a crowd of 8,105 that night, down from the 12,417 on Saturday but tickets have been selling rapidly since the win for the semi-final game on Friday.  It seems as though the entire lower bowl will be open if tickets keep selling at this pace.  This would be great for the Women's Team.  I'm expecting it to be busy and have a full crew of hospitality up in the suites to help out.  Who knows?? Maybe we'll see David Booth and gang back for the big game on Friday!