Tuesday, June 3, 2014

First Day of World Cup Hockey!


Hi Friends and Family!

               Today was our 6th day in Holland and we have adjusted pretty well. This morning we did not have breakfast at the hotel as we were going to the world cup! Instead, we had bagels in the vans on the way to the Hague. Some of us got lucky with regular cream cheese, and some did not, with salmon flavored cream cheese, but there were plenty of apples to go around!
               When we arrived at the World Cup, we were overwhelmed. There were so many shops of field hockey equipment and apparel. There was one large stadium called Kyocera Stadium and another smaller stadium called GreenFields Stadium. The first game was between the women from Germany and South Africa. We were all ecstatic to watch our first world cup game with  the Germans coming out strong with a 3-1 finish. For lunch, we went to a marketplace that was filled with fresh fruit and vegetables that was inside the world cup. There was pizza, pasta, a salad bar, smoothies and many other healthy options. Lunch was delicious as is all of the food we have had in holland! After lunch, the women from England and China faced off with China winning 3-0. In between the games we got to spend lots of time shopping and exploring the products and activities at the various tents. We were able to purchase many souvenirs for ourselves, our friends, and our family. It is going to be interesting trying to pack our suitcases to go home! 
               The third game of the day was New Zealand versus South Africa which was our first opportunity to watch some mens field hockey. It was unbelievable to see the level of skill and the speed of the game. This was the first time many of the players on our team have had the opportunity to watch mens field hockey. The New Zealand team ended up beating South Africa 5-0.  After watching the first half of the Germany versus Argentina men's field hockey game, we headed to the smaller stadium to stake out some good seats for the USA women's field hockey match. The interesting part about international field hockey is that there is a video review, which is called a video referral. Each team has one referral per game and can continue to use their video referral if the call is made in their favor. During the USA and Argentina  game, Argentina used the video referral multiple times. This was the game that we had all been looking forward to today. Most of the team put on face paint to show our USA team spirit. We met many other fans cheering for team USA, which was so exciting. It was amazing to see team USA play and to see the different levels of hockey. Team USA finished in a 2-2 tie with Argentina. There are no overtime periods in the first round of the world cup.
               We then went to our final game of the day, which was between the men from the Netherlands and Korea. This was one of the most exciting sporting events we have ever attended with the crowd going wild throughout the entire game!  During the game, one of the chants was “Holland,” which actually sounded like a multitude of things with various accents including hold on, hola, and hold them. It was kind of a struggle to actually figure out that they were chanting “Holland,” and coach was kind enough to help us out.The music was great and the crowd was pumped up dancing, chanting, and doing the wave. The crowd was full of orange apparel with many dutch fans in attendance. The Netherlands pulled off an amazing win with less than 2 minutes left in the game. The final score was 2-1. Field hockey in Holland is comparable to ice hockey in America and as we witnessed the Netherlands win and the fans go crazy, we joined right along with them! It was an experience of a lifetime. 
         After a great day at the world cup we came back to the hotel for a late dinner of pizza at the hotel. Now off to bed.

We love you all!
Colleen and Abby


This is the World Cup logo on the outside of Kyocera Stadium.


Above are the flags of all of the countries participating in the World Cup. There are 15 countries participating between men's and women's competition.


This giant globe is located at the entrance to the world cup.


Here is a team picture at the USA vs Argentina match.


 Above is a picture of team USA huddling to prepare for a corner.


This is a great panoramic photo from our seats behind the goal. This is inside the larger stadium, Kyocera Stadium.


At the start of the Netherlands game, the fans unraveled a giant Netherlands jersey.


The World Cup!!!

The USA field hockey team in action.


Some of the girls excited for their first game at the World Cup!


Enjoying our great seats in the 9th-10th row!


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