My Edmonton Adventure

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Hello all!

I just wanted to write down my thoughts on the weekend spent in Edmonton to watch the WCQ match against Honduras.

First off, I'd like to say that it was an absolute pleasure to meet so many of you: Dave Beach, Toronto Support (Mike), Beaver, Jens, Strobe Z, G-Wallace, Mad Cap Mac, Dave, Chet, Ian, and many others who's name I can't think of right now. Oh, and of course the lovely Christina Stalteri.

It was also great to see Free Kick (Tony), Matthew, Vancouver Fan (Nazz), Mike D and Current Champ again.

It certainly wasn't the same without the Keay brothers, Gian-luca, Moonturk, Beckham Jr., JayWay and many others who couldn't make it out this time.

The game was a blast. Sure, I'm still upset over the officiating, but looking back it was part of an experience I will never forget. Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium is a world-class facility, surpassing all expectations I had (I thought it was like Frank Clair Stadium, it's more like Foxboro!!).

The atmosphere we generated was incredible, and I'm sure the players appreciated it (Stalteri was appreciative enough to send over autographed trading cards, delivered to us by Christina - THANKS Paul and Christina).

The deVos goal was a moment of sheer joy, impossible to accurately put into words. The slow-motion style feeling I had when Ante rolled that back pass, the manner in which the ball just died, was like any other memory I have of traumatic moments. Your whole emotional package just seems to drop to your stomach.

Props to the Voyageurs for resisting the temptation to punish those Hondurans that swarmed our section after they scored their penalty. We could have easily pushed them to the ground and given them a beating - but we didn't. That's my proudest moment as a member of the Voyageurs thus far.

Post-match, I fully intended to drop off my bag and get back to the Sherlock Holmes (much thanks to them for the free dinner!!), but I decided to turn the tv on to watch the highlights of the game and promptly crashed, waking up at 3 in the morning disoriented in my hotel room ("Where the f*ck am I, and why do I have this sinking feelign in my gut...oh yeah, Mexican referee). That's too bad, I was looking forward to drinking with you guys. Next time!!!

I so desperately want to go to Vancouver for the Costa Rica match...but it doesn't look likely. Hopefully the local Voyageurs will want to get together for the games.