Danny O'Rourke's preseason journal
Crew defender keeps you up to speed from inside training camp
FEBRUARY 23 | Back in town |  |
In Bradenton we resided in apartments rather than a hotel. They consisted of anywhere between three and five players, depending on how many beds/rooms were inside. Yeah, I was roommates with Chad. I just dealt with it. For the most part, these were the guys you hung out with the majority of the trip. Chad, Cory and I broke the monotony with college/NBA basketball games and a barrage of YouTube clips. Although there were many videos viewed, the likely winners donned the titles "Afro Ninja" and "Kid After Dentist." Usually, the constant flow of SportsCenter is enough to get us through a road trip. However, if we heard the term "A-Roid" again or listened to Linda Cohn try to spew another cliffhanger about what would happen to him next, the TV would have ended up out the window. All in all, playing euchre and people watching was the best way to get through "Halo 3 Withdrawal." Don't ask.
The apartment next door was where the euchre games went down. The amateurism of the likes of Moffat, Jed, Lenhart, and Kenny was evident once Cory and I sat down to play. Peanut Butter, meet Jelly. Beethoven, here's your piano. We were unstoppable. We still are owed a smoothie.
Once again, when Gaven wasn't painting his nails black and jamming to "The Receiving End of Sirens" in the corner, you could find him fishing at one of the many ponds. Garey and Noonan would be doing the same - fishing that is. I wish I could get into fishing like these guys. It sure is a good way to pass the time.
To pass the time, Gruenenbaum would watch movies from his infinite collection; Iro's fingers were seemingly glued to his T-Mobile Sidekick. "Just gotta keep talking," he would say; Guillermo would win money in poker or teach us a lesson in fashion by donning the latest trend in Argentina: tight jean shorts; Frankie was once again in pursuit of the "espresso crown" (I may have beat him this year); Cory kept busy by walking on the paths; and no matter what, Will was happy whenever BC was around. Oh yeah, and we played some soccer, too. Here's how the final week played out down south:
Everyone was feeling good about the way we had been practicing and the great team chemistry, which has carried over from last year. However, we weren't getting the results to which we had grown accustomed. Therefore, Robert sat us down and reminded us that this year was going to be more difficult than the last and that we had to worry about one thing: winning.
With the help of Robert's pep talk and familiar faces on the field, the Crew rattled off three wins in the following week, over the U-20 National Team, University of Tampa and Central Florida. Although these were games we should have won anyway, it was refreshing to re-establish our winning tradition from last year. Hopefully, this trend will continue throughout our England and Austin trips.
After a weekend of relaxing, re-energizing and spending time with loved ones, we returned to the grind on Monday. It was good to see some familiar faces. Not yours, Pat.
Hoping that I don't get stuck next to Duncan on the plane ride to England,
Danny
FEBRUARY 12 | What's up folks? | |
BRADENTON, Fla. -- Are you guys more excited about USA dominating Mexico at our home field Wednesday night or that you don't have to read Hesmer's blog this year? C'mon be honest. As much as I enjoyed watching our captain, Frankie, have a phenomenal game running up and down the flank and once again unleashing the patented Frankie two-footed tackle (I must say that I am anxious to add that to my repertoire, although I'd find a way to get carded), a preseason without reading about Will's bromance with BC is quite appreciated.
On a more serious note, the first part of preseason has been great. Everyone came back this year having maintained a high level of fitness, so we have been able to get down to business.
Business started this year with three consecutive days of doubles. Although it was pretty tiring for everyone, the energy level remained high. We are all competing and ready to get after it this year. We started off the preseason campaign versus D.C. and after a battle, we came up short, losing 2-1. Guess we just had to get that first one out of our system.
The 2009 SuperDraft brought us even more depth this year. Some new faces in Alex (Grendi), Chris (Clements), Paul (Gerstenberger), and trialists Ty (Shipalane) and Anthony (Peters) have all have been great thus far. With smaller rosters this year, I am confident that we will still be as deep as ever.
Bobby (head coach Robert Warzycha) hasn't let us skip a beat this year either. With his competitive nature and ability to not only coach but also demonstrate what he expects, it will add to the strength of our team this year.
As I sit here watching (Wednesday's) Duke-UNC game, I wish that I had exciting preseason stories to share with you folks. There are no crazy details yet. No Frankie stories because he's not here, much to the dismay of his lesser half, Duncan. Just a lot of hard work. Just one more disc left in my "Lost: Season 4" marathon.
In closing, I would like to applaud all the Columbus fans who continued their dominant display in cheering on our national team to victory. Seeing all you guys (amongst others) create such a hostile atmosphere makes me want to start the season tomorrow.
Still waiting to hear what happens to A-Rod,
Danny
