Sunday, October 29, 2006

Thistlenation - the Blog Begins



Hi there and welcome to Thistle Nation. In the above picture are some of the many great gals that I play soccer with and who entail Thistle Nation. We are a women's soccer team from Portland, Oregon. Most of us have been playing together for over 20 years. Presently, of course, we are much more than just a soccer team and there will be more about that later.

That picture was taken in 2002 (I think oh how the memory goes) when we played in the National Over-40 tournament in Hawaii. This was after our semi-final loss - we were in the second overtime of a 0-0 tie and they scored with about 2 minutes left. To be honest it was a defensive battle for us - we were not the better team that day but it would've been nice to go to PK's. Our goalie (the incredible Mary V) was having the tournament of her life and I believe to this day we would've won based on her performance alone.

It was a great 4 days filled with gritty and sweaty soccer games followed by nights of Hawaiian music and food and enjoying the trade winds and the sounds of the ocean. I grew up in Hawaii so this was a wonderful time for me - enjoying the islands with my greatest friends and their families.

One of the highlights was celebrating Kelly Kelly Kelly's birthday with MaiTais on the beach. Walking from bar to bar without a care in the world and only the sound of laughter and palm leaves rustling to keep us company.

We have a game today so I better run - we are playing the Cosmos? The weather is perfect soccer weather - cool, we had rain this morning so the field will be soft (hey 40 year olds need soft ground), and the sun is out.

We will be missing one of our great defenders S. as she will be off watching her daughter battle it out in U-14 ball. It's their final game of the fall season and they always battle with this particular team so I wish you luck Jojo and hopefully your mom's team will survive without her.

Cheers!

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