Team USA and the World Cup

Julie and I struck up a friendship over the past couple of years thanks in large part to the kids. She even trained and competed with me in the 2009 Redondo Beach Triathlon. We finished the race! I have happily been able to get to know her even more as a result of this trip. One of the things I learned was that she used to coach and referee soccer while in college. What a terrific way to make some extra cash! It also explains why she was so interested in the World Cup. On our first evening in Mammoth, while having dinner in the gourmet restaurant (with the kids), she was busy scoping out WHERE to go and watch the USA play at 7:00 AM the next morning. Luckily she found a pub in Mammoth that was open for breakfast. She and Cormac rose early to drive the 10 minutes in to town. Little Finnioula was still asleep, so Berk and I remained in camp until she woke up. When Julie and Cormac returned, we found out the USA won against Algeria. Happily they made it through to the next round, but now had to face Ghana, which was much a more difficult task. Ultimately they lost that game, but the level of excitement in our camp fun to see. Everyplace we went the World Cup games were on TV. Cormac was so enthusiastic about soccer that it rubbed off on Berk. So much so, that even after the Carew’s began their drive back home, Berk still wanted to watch the tournament – even without the USA playing. We may have a budding soccer lover on our hands.