Special all over again
Grand memories in this schedule
By TERRY JONES -- Edmonton Sun
Round and round they go ... where they stop, nobody knows.
Well, it just seems that way.
One minute they're are at practice, the next they're at the waterpark at West Edmonton Mall, like Kara Lang, then they pop up in the evening at minor soccer autograph sessions like Christine Sinclair, Sasha Andrews and Breanna Boyd did at Strathcona Athletic Park in Sherwood Park last night.
They really are go-go girls. And it'll be like that all the way to Sunday and their 2 p.m. deja vu/bon voyage game for Canada's women's World Cup soccer team against Mexico.
"We're in that last stage and this week, this game, is kind of a special time and place,'' said coach Even Pellerud of the road to USA 2003 and the Women's World Cup.
It's time to put the pedal to the metal, but at the same time, there's more to what's involved here this week that training and a game. It's an official kickoff, of sorts. And the coach wants to find a balance between everything involved.
Because of the forest fires in Kelowna cutting into their team-building trip, and a team with more than the usual number of bumps and bruises, coach Pellerud gave the girls the afternoon off to visit West Edmonton Mall and the Waterpark yesterday instead of holding a two-practice day.
MOVIE NIGHT
Tonight at 6:30 p.m., Kara Lang hosts ''Joints In Motion'' Arthritis Society movie night at West Ed with the entire team in attendance, autographing posters for all who attend a special showing of the Bend It Like Beckham movie.
A special ''women's World Cup'' press Conference is scheduled for Thursday at the Westin.
One of the major events is the 'Road To The World Cup' Dinner at the Westin with cocktails at 6 p.m. and parade of players at 7 p.m. (About 40 tickets are still available: 916-5158).
Friday the girls have a special event with Minister of Health Anne McLellan and availability for a SportsNet special Sunday.
Saturday is the usual pre-game on-the-field at Commonwealth Stadium for both Canada and Mexico.
You get the idea.
It was always meant to be an event.
The other stops were all games, but this one, for the Canadian women's World Cup team, was always set up to be more than a game.
But to what extent is it an event?
Will Sunday's so called deja vu-bon voyage game draw 20,000? 25,000? 30,000? 35,000? More?
The same organizers of last year's FIFA U-19 women's World Cup success where 161,207, including 47,784 showed for the final, had chosen 34,000 as their attendance goal. But they're guessing.
SOLID PRE-SALE
They've sold 22,000 or so to minor soccer players at $5 each, but that's not a hard number in terms of how many will actually show up. And while the pre-sale has been solid for the tickets ranging from $10 to $18, organizers have no clue how they'll do during the week and on game day for the Sunday 2 p.m. start.
Anything over 28,000 and that's more than the capacity of both Columbus and Portland sites where they will play in the USA 2003 Women's World Cup which opens in mid-September with Canada against Germany.
One thing for sure, those kind of numbers weren't even dreamed of for women's soccer in Canada before what happened here last year. And the girls have proved already this year that it's not just a local condition.
While they only drew 2,435 in Montreal vs. England for their first friendly in Canada, 18,964 showed up for the second game in Ottawa and the Montreal-Ottawa games against Brazil drew 12,245 and 18,017 respectively.
The girls will play Mexico again next week in Vancouver, take a five-day break, and then regroup for a final camp and game against Australia in Kingston, Ont..
Canada is in a pool with Germany, Argentina and Japan and plays the first two in Columbus, Ohio, and the Japan game in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
