Columnist Nick Green has written 100 Percent Soccer
since 2005. A
native of England, he began writing about soccer in
the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat
in the stands for one in
the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home
Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas
USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer.
Married to a long-suffering soccer widow, he has a cat
named Pele.Shannon Boxx, Saturday Gameday Thoughts
I asked Torrance's Shannon Boxx to blog while she was in China at the World Cup representing the U.S. Women's National Team.
She had trouble connecting to the Internet in China Friday , but persevered and kindly took the time to blog these thoughts that landed in my in box at 11:50 p.m. Friday PT mere hours before the 4:55 a.m. US-England game that's live on ESPN2.
Here's what Boxxy had to say:
Ni Hao from China: It’s game day here in Tianjin.
We are now in the playoff rounds of the tournament and it’s either win or go home.
After coming in first in our group we now face a good England team at 8 p.m. local time.
We have had three good days to rest our legs after playing in our third group game against Nigeria in Shanghai. The team is now itching to get back on the field.
My game day routine is not much different over here than it is back in the States. The hotels we have been staying in have been great about cooking us the food that we like to eat.
This morning I woke up and had my banana pancakes and coffee, a game day ritual for me.
I have taken a walk by the river that runs next to our hotel and have visited with my mom and sister who have come over to watch. Now it’s just about staying relaxed and getting hydrated.
Our pre-game meal is in about an hour and I'm thinking about watching a couple “Rescue Me” episodes, which I have become hooked on while being here.
Even though I am counting down the days till I can have my first El Burrito Jr. meal I hope tonight will be successful and we will continue on the road to bringing home the World Cup trophy.
-Shannon