The Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming

Ian left for Germany yesterday. While there was much excitement and anticipation leading up to this trip, I can't begin to tell you the full range of emotions we experienced yesterday as he left. I think this has hit Michele very hard. Giving up our fourteen year old son to strangers for a week and a half was tough. Add the distance (4000 miles) between us, and it made for an emotional "gute reise" or "bon voyage."

Yet, this is such a great opportunity for him. It is also a fine reward for all of the hard work he has put forth to get to this point. Ian will be playing soccer against some of the top youth teams in Europe this week. His U-14 Olympic Development Program (ODP) team left Cincinnati for Frankfurt last night. He has played with or against most of the kids on this team at various club tournaments over the past few years, so I've gotten to know a few of them. It really is a nice bunch of boys. However, the kids were so excited to leave that they were mostly oblivious to the adults in the airport.


Ian called us at 8:00 AM this morning. He arrived safely, and has already done a little sight-seeing. The team has a tour bus with a full-time guide for the entire trip. Therefore, they will be able to see some of the sights between games as they travel through Germany and Holland. This morning, his team took a cable car ride through the vineyards and across the Rhine River, on their way to Cologne. After a brief stop to tour the Cologne Cathedral, they will end up in the little town of Straelen, located on the Germany/Holland border, which will serve as their home base for the next week. They'll be staying at the Straelener Hof, with the entire hotel reserved for the U-14 boys AND girls teams (yes, this was a hot topic this past week).

The boys team flew to Germany with two team administrators, two coaches, and a few parents. However, the parents do not travel with the boys, nor stay with them in the team hotel. Essentially, they travel as spectators or fans for the games. They also have a different tour itinerary. As much as I would have liked to have gone on this trip, the cost prevented me from going...and Ian didn't seem too disappointed for some reason. Yet, it will not be ALL fun and games for him. Ian will still have to do his school work, read, and write (daily) in a journal. I've also heard rumors of plans for a blog to be written during their stay. If I receive more details of the blog, I'll provide a link.

Tomorrow, the team is planning a trip to The Netherlands, with a stop in Amsterdam for a visit to the Anne Frank House. They will also visit a traditional cheese farm and clog maker. I asked Ian to take as many pictures as possible. He even took an extra memory card. We'll see if he can keep his promise to take lots of pictures, but avoid the red light district. Actual games begin on Monday against SV Straelen in Germany. GO OHIO & GO USA !!

The Sixth Challenge

My sister Diane gave me the following challenge from her blog:

1. Go to the photos folder in your computer.
2. Go to the sixth folder.
3. Go to the sixth picture.
4. Put the picture on your blog along with a description.
5. Invite six friends to join the challenge.

So, here is the picture:

This photo was not staged. Our pets are just freaks. Of course, it could be a sign that we are headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. You know, "human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" The dog (Guinness) and cat (Murphy) appear to genuinely like each other. However, they do compete mightily for Michele's attention during all waking hours. Yet, at the end of the day, you can find them using each other as pillows.

Our other cat (Yoshi) is highly neurotic and skittish. Therefore, it's very surprising that he is comfortable enough to sleep on the dog. However, I must admit that EACH of us have used the dog as a pillow at some point in time.

Finally, while looking in this folder, I found this picture of Ian & Nathan which was taken in our yard last year. The quality of the photo is not great, but it did capture a common sight... hearty laughter resulting from a joke shared only among brothers.

Year of Nathan

More from the "Year of Nathan." As discussed in a previous post, Nathan has met quite a few famous people this year. What's really cool about this is the fact that the setting for each encounter was not the typical "let me sign this and get outta my face" autograph session. Nathan was able to meet these people in somewhat normal situations which allowed him the opportunity to actually sit and talk with them.

At a recent Dublin Coffman game, David Archuletta sang the national anthem. Since Nathan is the Coffman waterboy, he was able to hang out with David before the game. Nathan commented that David was "a kid, just like me."

I'm happy to report that the "Year of Nathan" has not yet come to an end. He has achieved straight A's this year in school. Yesterday, his basketball team defeated the top 6th grade squad in the area. Nathan led his team in assists, and had the shot of the game... a driving, baseline reverse lay-up over the tallest (5'9") player in the league. Great job, buddy.

For those about to ROCK....

Nathan is the resident rocker in our house. He makes it very clear that his all-time favorite guitarist is Angus Young of AC/DC. This is just fine with me, since many of the favored memories of my youth flashback in my brain accompanied by a soundtrack of AC/DC songs. Recently, in what I am now calling the "Year of Nathan," we made memories bigger and better than most all of those previously recorded in my brain. Although not everything in the "Year of Nathan" has gone according to plan, good things seem to be following him this year...and I am really happy for him. Here is an example:

On Wednesday, Nathan was injured during (indoor) football practice. He went up to catch a pass, and his ankle was rolled upon by an opposing player, as they both tumbled back on the turf. Initially, we were told that it was likely that he had fractured a bone and had a growth plate injury. However, after seeing an orthopedist, it was determined to be a very severe sprain. He'll be out of commission for 4-8 weeks. [Wait, I'm getting to the GOOD part.] So, on Friday, he was on crutches. This really discouraged him, until he was surprised by some great friends of ours with two tickets to see AC/DC at the Schottenstein Center. Guess who was the lucky recipient of the other ticket..?! So, Nathan and I headed to the arena after I returned home from work.

Once we arrived at the Schott, a bus picked us up in the parking lot and dropped us off at the door. Seeing Nathan on crutches, the ushers waved us to the front of the long lines and through a side security check point. We were directed to the elevators where we showed our tickets to the attendant. We descended a few floors, and when the doors opened, we found ourselves BACKSTAGE! Everyone had big passes hanging from their necks. The attendant saw my surprise and told us to just show our tickets to anyone who questioned us. We walked past the roadies, through some curtains, and found our way to the floor of the arena, just in front of the stage. I found an usher, showed him our tickets, and asked him where our seats were located. He said "right here." Our seats were in front of the stage, and just 3 seats from the long runway which jutted out from the middle and into the first section of seats. My face probably looked just like Nathan's in this photo. We settled in and talked with a few of the nice people around us. Many were just like me, children of the 70's & 80's, attending the concert with their kids. There was a couple in front of us with very strong Australian accents, who flew from New York just for this show. The air was electric when the opening band, The Answer, finally took the stage. I hadn't really heard them before, but they played what they called "Irish swamp music." It sounded a lot like Led Zeppelin to us, and we became instant fans. Their show ended after an hour, and it was time for the headliners to play. There was not a single empty seat in the place when the house lights went down, and a 40-foot locomotive, spewing smoke and fire, crashed through a screen and onto the stage. This was the start of the most entertaining show I have ever seen. Period. Words cannot describe it. Neither can pictures. I tried to take some, but the light show and smoke effects wreaked havoc with the camera settings. I tried to adjust, but just decided to snap photos so as not to miss the show while messing with the camera.

Sorry for the blurred images...

Nathan called Michele in the middle of the concert and screamed at the top of his lungs, "THIS IS FLIPPIN' AWESOME!" He couldn't hear if she replied. To be truthful, I couldn't hear for two days after the concert. I must be getting too old for this. But it was SO worth it... The boys from Melbourne are all in their mid to late fifties now. Having seats this close to the stage allowed us to see every wrinkle, scar, and roll. A lifetime of hard rocking shows on their faces, making them look older. Angus is a tiny guy, almost troll-like. But man, can he play. When Angus or Brian Johnson walked up the runway, the people in our section placed Nathan next to the railing. During these portions of the show, he had the best seat in the house...just 5 feet from his (our) rock 'n' roll idols! This is a night we'll never forget.

Seasons End II

Ian just completed his 2008 soccer season. He doesn't get much of a break, though. NEXT season starts in January. He keeps getting better & better as a player. This probably has something to do with the fact that he has a soccer ball at his feet 24/7. Last week, he played in a tournament in Raleigh, NC. His team won 2 games and lost 1, but did not advance to the championship round. He had one of his best showings of the season, assisting on 4 of the 8 goals scored by his team during the tournament. After the last game on Sunday, we attended the ACC Men's Soccer Championship game. In this game, the Maryland Terrapins defeated the Virginia Cavaliers. Ian sported his Duke Blue Devils attire (when in Rome...). It was another great Father/Son weekend full of fart jokes and sports. What else do you need?

Some of Ian's teammates attended the game, too. To Ian's right (in the OSU sweatshirt) is Jordan. They have been friends since the 1st grade. Unfortunately, Jordan & his family will be moving to Augusta, GA in January. We will miss them.

Ian has been invited to play in Europe in the Spring! He'll travel with his U14 Olympic Development Program team and will represent the USA & Ohio against club teams from Holland and Germany. The travel itinerary sounds great, with stops in Amsterdam, Venlo, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Koblenz, Rudesheim, and Frankfurt. I hope he realizes how lucky he is to have this opportunity....and how proud we are.

Yo si le voy, le voy al Columbus

Since soccer is BIG in our house, we have been loving the recent success of the Columbus Crew. For his birthday, we were able to take Grandpa Keller to his first Crew game. This night, the black & gold were playing in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Kansas City Wizards. Columbus won in dominant fashion, before a rowdy crowd. I think Dad really enjoyed it.... I know we did.

On November 13th, we attended the Eastern Conference Championship, featuring the Crew versus the Chicago Fire. This will go down as the most fun I've ever had at a sporting event. The atmosphere was electric. The crowd of 16,000 was much louder than the 100,000+ who attend Buckeye football games. Ian brought his friend, and soccer teammate, Brad Hakim.

Nathan watched with interest, since he had trained with the Fire goal keeper, Jon Busch, for a few summers. Busch won the Major League Soccer goal keeper of the year award this season, and is still the goalie coach for Team Ohio FC (Ian's club team). Regardless, Nathan rooted against Jon and for a Crew win. His wish came true, as the Crew won 2-1 with a come from behind victory.

After the game, there was a HUGE party in the tent next to the stadium. Inside the tent, we saw Ian & Nathan's old soccer coach, Mark McMahon, with some of his fellow Irish buddies. We stuck around and talked soccer for awhile. Until.... the Crew supporter groups [Hudson Street Hooligans, Crew Union, Local 614, and La Turbina Amarilla] came marching into the tent. After this, we were stuck in the middle of a drum beating, singing, chanting, jumping, and dancing mob. As Nathan said, "dude, it was AWESOME!"

As for the title of this post... this is a chant [among many others] sung by the supporters groups at every game. "Yes I go, I go for Columbus." GO CREW!! Beat New York for the MLS Cup on Sunday, November 23rd.

Seasons End I

Nathan has had a fantastic fall.... and I'm envious. Through his connections with the Dublin Coffman High School 'Rocks football team, he has met a few famous people. Some of the folks with whom Nathan has had conversations this year:

Kent Mercker (Cincinnati Reds Pitcher)
Jon Busch (Chicago Fire Goalkeeper)
Chinedum Ndukwe (Cincinnati Bengals Safety)
Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns Quarterback)
David Archuletta (American Idol Runner-up)

Nathan [#88] finished his first season of "American" football a few weeks ago. He developed into a very good player. His coaches loved him, and made him a captain. He played center, and was a true leader on the field. By the end of the season, he was dominating play at the line of scrimmage.

While Nathan played well individually, his team [Cowboys] did not fare so well. His team did not taste victory on the scoreboard this season, although there were many other victories to celebrate. Nathan learned to find the "game within the game" for these victories. This included preventing his assigned defender from participating in a single tackle for an entire game. That's him, fourth row, second from the right, with a scowl. He was very upset that some of his teammates smiled... there's no smiling in football!

For his final game, he was able to play on the turf at Dublin Scioto High School. Here he is [black sleeves & socks] starting the play against the Titans.