The Other World Cup

I didn’t know about triathlon until high school and didn’t compete in one until my senior year of college, but I grew up dreaming of competing in a World Cup.  No, not an ITU World Cup, but the FIFA World Cup.  The World Cup.  Now they have a women’s World Cup, but that wasn’t around when I was chasing a ball around my front yard with my brothers and Dad.  I wanted to play in the real World Cup.  Why not?

I'm second from the right in the back row (standing), with the killer bangs

In high school I realized my favorite part of soccer was running around, so I swapped my cleats for track spikes and stuck with that through college.  When I first moved out to Colorado I thought of picking up soccer again and maybe eventually playing for the Denver Diamonds.  Then, I found myself trading my computer for a tri bike and my dreams of playing on a grassy pitch in a big stadium were behind me.  For good.  Now my goal is to someday compete in an ITU World Cup.

But, that doesn’t mean that I am not totally pumped for the 2010 World Cup to start.  It starts on Friday, USA plays England Saturday, and yes, I’m flying to New Jersey to watch it with my family.  I’m looking forward to an extended weekend where a different sport is the focus, and while I’m looking forward to swims in the ocean, I’m really looking forward to the penalty kick contests in my parents’ backyard.