Aug. 15, 2004
INDAIATUBA, Brazil – The Letters From Brazil roll on as three members of the junior class (Erika Bohn, Maggie Manning and Annie Schefter) take their turn at recapping the weekend’s activities. Letters From Brazil #3 – Erika Bohn, Maggie Manning and Annie Schefter (Aug. 15) Saturday started like any other day: breakfast, meeting, pregame meal, and then off to the fields. Little did we know we would be playing admist a stench so great that even the cows seemed to shudder with each breath. Although the Motorola complex sat beautifully atop a hill surrounded by orange trees, each passing wind sent each player gasping for fresh air.
Erika Bohn has led a Notre Dame defense that has allowed just two goals in four games in Brazil.
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We were able to pull through and prevailed victoriously over our competition. Both games displayed extreme grit and determination, while sticking to our clean and sportsmanlike play. OH WAIT, we almost forgot our classmate “Stomps” (Katie Thorlakson) having to be yanked off the field 10 minutes before the end of the game at the cry of our liason. Apparently, Brasilians don’t enjoy Stomps’ hard-nosed style and were conspiring to “sandwich and take out” #7. As if playing two soccer games was not enough, the coaches then felt it was necessary to walk miles and miles through the biggest mall in South America, at quite a grueling pace, in order to earn our endless pizza dinner. Banana, corn, beef junks…you name it, they put it on the pizza. The waiters saved the best for last as they brought out their take on dessert … chocolate pizza with strawberries. Yeah baby…mmmm. Needless to say the walk back through the mall was at a much more comfortable pace. And you thought the fun was over … OH NO ladies and gentlemen. The fun was just about to begin. For the first time, and most likely the last, we witnessed our entire coaching and support staff attempt to “shake their booty” down the aisle of the buis to the likes of Usher, Snoop Dogg, and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. The opening act was the big man himself, coach Randy Waldrum. The screams and laughter were deafening as he flirtatiously pranced down the aisle, complete with spirit fingers and waving hair. One by one they answered their call as the girls singled them out with chants to get their groove on. The bus seemed more like a club with flashing lights and blaring music, as each adult made a complete fool of themselves … and don’t worry, it’s all caught on film. We’d like to take this opportunity to inform you all that only one of the “adults” refused to dance but he shall remain nameless… And you thought the night of fun was over, oh no, the night had only just begun for the girls themselves. As Erika Bohn was leading a spinning workout for our athletic trainer Jaime Scollon and “Sloth” (Kate Tulisiak), the spinning room quickly turned into an Irish dance party. …”I don’t see nothing wrong with a little bump and grind”
Annie Schefter and the rest of the Irish midfielders have dominated possession during the Brazil trip.
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Being the good little Catholics girls that we are, we attempted to attend a Brazilian mass. What we stumbled into, however, was nothing like we expected. Instead of the traditional Catholic mass (in Portugese, of course), what we found were little boys and girls in dresses and suits of complete white, a priest in street clothes and a 15-minute period where nothing was said at all. We decided to leave shortly after coach tapped one of us on the shoulder and asked, “Is this normal? Like…are there usually this many kids crying?” After a quick stroll through the Sunday Market, and a pound of starfruit later, we caught up with the rest of the girls back at the hotel. We found them out back, working on their tan. Being the athletes that we are, we couldn’t pass up the chance at some “leisurely” competition. We hit the tennis and volleyball courts and quickly came to the conclusion that we should stick to the soccer pitch. Although, we could have sworn to see Anna Kournikova, but as usual she didn’t win the match. The second professional game that we saw on Sunday afternoon (at Guarina) was a letdown, to say the least. No fireworks, huge flags or flares throughout the crowd. There wasn’t even a home team victory. Once again, however, our trusty bodyguards (two of them have been with us throughout the trip, plus out great tour guide Rafael) led us to and from the ladies room throughout the game. You can imagine how many trips these poor men made with 30 females continuously drinking water.
Maggie Manning’s goal opened the scoring in Saturday’s pair of wins.
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We sit now, writing this diary, being punished for consuming so much chicken hearts, prime rib, and pork with cheese (yes, we went back to the Coxilha Grill, famous for more kinds of “meat on a stick” than you can shake a stick at). And, of course, there’s always room for dessert!! Hopefully, we don’t feel the 10 extra pounds tomorrow when we attempt to outplay the number-one competition on this trip. We leave you now with this thought: An F.A. Cup Champion’s field contains triangular, not rectangular, flags. Goodnight all. Signing off: Annie “Hefty” Schefter, Erika “Bohn”, and Margaret “Magpie” Manning