Entry 10: August 14

On the road again….

Hello everyone, it’s me again on a bright and breezy Wednesday morning. Our last big game is today against Dundee United at 1:00 p.m. The contest will take place about an hour and a half from here in Aberdeen. We’ve all loaded up the bus, and we’re only waiting for me to finish this entry before we head out.

The result two days ago against Aberdeen was HUGE! Everyone has been talking about the win everywhere we go. Coach Clark has advised us to stay humble, though.

So now we’re undefeated after four games, but this afternoon’s contest should prove to be around the same level as the last. Aberdeen is really the only team to have posed us any serious problems. Dundee United ought to be able to give us some problems as well, and we’ll hope to deal with them as well as we have been all week.

Yesterday was a very easy day. We did our usual post-gameday jog to the beach plus the twenty-minute wade in the North Sea. Yesterday was very sunny which made the run and swim very enjoyable

On the way to the beach, however, Coach Avery took a detour and led us to the Aberdeen Stadium, the site of the game that we watched over the weekend. We were told that we’d have a few minutes in the store shop to collect souvenirs and things of that nature; but little did we know what else was to come.

Once we had all gone through the checkout line, we headed to the underground parts of the stadium, the parts you do not see when just watching a game. We saw all the corporate rooms, the cafe for the players, the boot room, and even the Legends Room where Coach Clark had his photograph, among others, enlarged on the side of a wall. My favorite room was the kit room where an old, old man name Teddy Scott has spent many years doing the wash and setting up the uniforms. But he also collects jerseys, ties, pictures, trophies, and banners of most any team. This room, which was closed off, was packed!!!!

Coach Clark’s old friend led us on the tour, and we met several of his other old teammates along the way. I’m sure this was very exciting for him. Everyone had a different story about our coach – and his name has now begun to pop up in almost every newspaper article either talking about his team (us) and glory of his playing days.

We have concluded a wonderful stay in Aberdeen, but now we’re ready for more. We did our best to clean the flats today, but the university staff might need to take a run or two through them after we leave. On the way to the game we’re going to try to stop at Dunollie Castle. Following the game, we’ll be touring St. Andrews Golf Course. With a victory, it could be a very exciting game.

Well, it’s almost time to check out and head for the bus. Wish me luck…

The Luck of the Irish!!!!

-Greg Martin-