Canada's women miss the ceremony too

It's Friday, and the opening Ceremonies are tonight. Although we have already played our first game of the tournament, today the Games will officially kick off.

 

Unfortunately, our team [Canada] will not be able to participate in the event because our first two games are in the city of Tianjin, which is a few hours away from Beijing. Traditionally, the ceremonies go on well into the night, and we've been warned that if we made the trip to Beijing, we wouldn't get back to our hotel here in Tianjin until at least 4:00am. As a team, we decided that as much as we would love to march in with the rest of the Canadian athletes and participate in the opening ceremonies, pulling an all-nighter is clearly not the best way to prepare for a game the next day. Especially since we're playing China, who will definitely have the home field advantage with about 99% of the 70,000-seat stadium full of screaming Chinese fans.

 

It is a little disappointing to have to miss out on such an integral part of the whole Olympic experience, but in the end we're here to play soccer, and so the decision was an easy one.

 

As I mentioned already, soccer started before the opening ceremonies. Actually, it's the only sport that competes prior to the official start of the games, with women's soccer played on Wednesday and the men's side having competed in their first group games yesterday.

 

Being the first event of the Games was pretty exciting, and the fact that we came out with a win was even better! Argentina did put up a good fight, though. I guess you could say they're kind of the dark horse of our group, with very few expecting them to get past the group play. We didn't want to underestimate them going into the game, though, because as many of you know, anything can happen in this sport. They managed to get a goal in the second half and at times unsettled us a bit with their strong possession game, but I think it's safe to say that we dominated most of the game. We ended with a 2-1 result, and now we're looking on to the game against China tomorrow (Saturday).

 

Staying here in Tianjin has been quite an experience. We may not be in Beijing in the midst of all the main Olympic excitement, but we can still feel the Olympic spirit here too. We're staying in a hotel with the other three women's teams in our group (China, Sweden and Argentina) as well as four of the men's teams (Nigeria, Japan, Holland and the U.S.). Walking past players like Ryan Babel (a member of the Netherlands team who also plays for Liverpool) in the lobby on our way to training every day is a small indication of the kind of elite athletes we're surrounded by here at the Olympics. Along with the pride of representing my country, it's an honor to represent UCLA here too. Bruin Pride has definitely traveled all the way to China from Westwood. It's been pretty cool to see first-hand the big presence UCLA has on the U.S. men's team here with Patrick Ianni, Benny Feilhaber and Marvell Wynne all competing for the U.S. and staying in this hotel too. I wish them the best of luck in their games, and I'm sure they'll do great!

 

Tonight our team will gather after dinner and watch the opening ceremonies on a big screen projector and then head to bed. We'll need a good night's rest to take on China tomorrow. But we are up to the task and look forward to a competitive game and hopefully, a good result.

 

Kara Lang scored a goal in Canada's victory over Argentina.

Comments

Brunno says:

Hello lady.you a good soccer player.I was twisting for vocês against U.S.A. Now we go to twist for Brazil.I know that you are very busy, but I would be a great honor for me. if you could order an email to me.My email is: brunno.vil@uol.com.br . Brazilian greetings . And good luck for you.

Barry O says:

Wow! I am an immediate fan! I am from the US and naturally rooting for the girls from my home country, but was fortunate enough to be home when your team played China. Amazing poise, talent, drive, and if you don't mind my saying, you are a beautiful woman as well. Your country should be very proud of you. Best luck with the Canadian team and with the Bruins. BarryO

Mylo says:

Hello there Kara! Greeting from China!

PW says:

As a Canadian visiting Beijing for the Olympics, I'm really proud of the way you and the rest of the Women's Soccer Team have been representing our country. Keep up the great work! Go Canada!!!

Josephine T. says:

Hey Kara! I'm definitely rooting for Team Canada, all the way! Although I'm studying right now in the States (UW in Seattle, WA), I will always be a proud Canuck! You go girl and make us proud!!! Kick some ass! A fan of yours, Jo

Ason says:

Hello Kara, you played a good job in the game with my country. I am from Guangzhou, one of the biggest cities of south China. I love football and enjoy seeing ur play though my English is not so good. Have u got ur private blog or can u announce ur E-mail address? I am eager to seeing it. My e-mail address is asonwong@hotmail.com Ason Wong Yours fan, From Guangzhou China

Name *

Mail (will not be published) *

Comment *

Please type in the code you see to the right of the text box.