Game Recovery

Here's what happens post game...you head straight to Port Philip and dip in the ocean for a twenty minute walkabout. It helps with the bruises and bumps and getting ride of all that fun game stuff that makes your body ache...needless to say, a few of the boys were a little cold in the 50 degree water...at least thats what we think it was...

Revo David Walker on Aussie Radio

This morning, Nashville K'Roo David Walker was featured on Ross & John on 3AW Breakfast radio show. Take a listen at:

http://www.mytalk.com.au/aspx/pages/mediaplayer.aspx?t=audio&w=12687

They mention a picture in a local paper about a Swedish player and an Irish player. There are some little quick guys here to play and there are some big blokes as well! Yes, he is holding him up.

1 Down 4 to Go

Today was fantastic. It's why we play the game. My first International Cup experience was flat out fun. Every now and then we have to remind ourselves of why we play the game - it's because we love the game. We train hard day in and day out, grind out the games in hot weather back home, run the track by ourselves when no one else is watching or joining. But this is what it is all about - playing a game you love.

The weather was footy perfect. Around 60 degrees and sunny. A little cross wind, but nothing to make a difference or anything to alter a shot.

Nerves were running high throughout the team. The vets were cool as ice, the rookies jumpy and nervous as expected. The line up was a solid mix of experience and ready-to-go-out-the-gate newbies. We played 4 quarters of 17 (no one knows why) on a field that was VERY long and super wide (hard to see the other side of the field wide). It seemed as if you could fit the whole 3 field US National Tournament on the one field itself.

After a first few minutes of jitters we settled down and played our ball. Hard at the footy and beat your opponent. There was not one mark uncontested or a 50/50 ball that was not ours. The overall effort was outstanding.

The backs worked extremely hard and efficient, marking, clearing and punching everything that came in the defensive 3rd. KB at the back lead the way with "Brando" and Bruce on the pockets. Captain Donnie led the halfback line with solid leadership and composure, laying down his law when anyone came to visit. Sars ran wild all game, providing the most energy, picking up loose balls, grabbing marks, making his usual winger runs and hitting the forwards with on-the-mark disposals. In one sequence, Pat Miller grabbed a loose ball on the edge of the box, hand-balled to a streaking and clothed Sars, who then hit George "Kidney" Lakomy for an easy 20 yard set shot. Kidney had a fantastic game - with 5 goals. He frequently outmarked the foot shorter defense man. When Denmark switched up the bigger back on Kidney, JV Valley had his way with the short. That didn't last long. The game ended 11.7 (72) to 1.4 (10) in favor of the USA.

The post game was spent dipping for a chilly 20 minute ocean walk in the Port Phillip bay. Lots of cold blokes running and walking back and forth. Water temps estimated at 50 degrees by Big Country. We are all hoping it makes a difference tomorrow when we wake.

The competition looks good overall, with NZ, PNG, Ireland, South Africa and Great Britain all posting big margin wins. Friday against China will let the rest of the guys get their jerseys dirty before we match up against South Africa.

Tomorrow we are honored to watched the Western Bulldogs practice, and then get to train on their ground. It will be great to see how an AFL team prepares on a daily basis. No doubt it will be intense and sharp.

Eat Breath Sleep Footy

Day two - we are in full swing of the IC. Finally out of a jet lag haze, practice was much sharper and crisp today. Jet lag coming this way isn't as bad - you sleep as much on the plane, arrive in the morning, stay up all day, then hit the sack around 8ish and sleep till 6. Do that two nights in a row and you feel normal again. Its amazing what sitting on a plane for 16 hours and doing nothing for two days does to your body. Legs are very tight. Practice in the afternoon yesterday was vigorous. Sprints with the ball. Heart was pounding. This morning, legs sore and still tight.

Its 24 hour footy. The focus is all on Denmark tomorrow. You wake up, meat the team for breakie, talk, think, eat footy. 8am run/stretch/kick/practice. Rest. Eat lunch. 1pm meeting for strategy and then off for another practice. Back and rest - watch footy on the tele (it seems like there is a game on at all times). It's all footy. All the time. The amount of footy knowledge I'm surrounded by is amazing. I was told by Earl Evon (Boston Demon and Revo 05) that in these two weeks I will learn more footy than I knew before - its true.

Starting line-ups were announced at the strategy meeting. Only 24 dress for the game. 18 play, 6 on inter change. Both Bruce and myself were named as starters. Bruce played on the 05 squad - this is my first IC and first official cap as a national team member.

So after a year and half of training, three Revo camps, a dislocated shoulder, and many miles training - it's here. Tomorrow vs Denmark the tip goes up at 1:20 pm local Melbourne time. The game will be fast and intense. It won't be like Milwaukee verse Minnesota where you applaud a good mark by a fellow Revo teammate on the opposite team. Now that will make you mad and get you fired up. The other team will be out for our heads - literally. But we are fired up and ready for the task. Game by game the march towards the MCG goes on.

The theme for Revo 08 is trust. Trust in everything that goes on in the team. Trust your teammate will be there for the leading run into open space. Trust you have that sheppard waiting next to you. Trust that the red white and blue will be there no matter where you turn.

I'm completely fired up and stoked for tomorrow's game. I get to represent the US of A. The adrenaline will be running high, nerves flying as usual. But when the tip goes up, it's just another footy game - maybe a little faster and fierce than usual, but it's a just another footy game.

For a PDF guide to the IC, click here. Courtesy of the AFL and IC.

Melbourne Day 1

Monday, August 25, 3pm local time Melbourne

Our flight from Los Angeles left at 10:30PM on Friday night. On the flight were US Revolution members Jay Levesque (Baltimore/Washington Eagles), Zachary Weaver (Minnesota Freeze), Jon Loring (Philadelphia Hawks), Dustin Jones (Florida Redbacks), and trainer Steve Budrick. All excited to get going, the flight took off on time. I luckily fell asleep for the first 10 hours of a 12 hour flight.

The layover in Auckland was brief, enough to get a good stretch before jumping the four hour flight to Melbourne. Meeting up in Auckland to join on the flight were Danny Hansen (Minnesota Freeze), Jason Becker (Minnesota Freeze), Jeff Persson (Nashville Kangaroos), and Brett “Viking” Ullman (San Diego Lions). Once again flight on time and no problems.

We landed in Mebourna around 9:30 and headed to customs. Danny decided to buy a camera at duty free and tried taking some shots in the customs line. He was swarmed by officials within seconds and taken to the ground. Ok, not really, but he had to delete the pictures. Jay, afraid he would loose his beef jerky (due to strict customs/import laws in Australia) forced down a whole bag of jerky in 5 minutes. It was his third breakfast.

Coach Rob Perry met us all at the airport, loaded us onto our bus and off to the hotel we went. Most of the players had already arrived. We had enough time to grab our Revo bags and swag before a 12noon team meeting. Lunch, consisting of sandwiches, went down fast.

At 2pm we walked to the Telstra Dome to watch St Kilda and Adelaide play. It was a good tight first quarter before St Kilda put the pressure on and kicked many unanswered goals. Footy over here is much different than what is playing it in the US. Well, not different, but the players are all hughly skilled and the ball goes exactly where they want it too. Thus the game is much crisper. Disposals are on the mark 70% of the time. There are multiple supporters around the ball at all times, kicks are on the mark most of the time, and handballs are fast and many. What one would think would be a short kick is a long handball and off they go running. I’m used to the ball on the ground a lot more which makes the game more physical.

Slept came fast at 8pm. Luckily slept through the night till 6:30. Team breakie and then off to practice at 8am. Practice was two hours long and very focused and intense. We have a lot of experienced players here to guide the 16 International Cup rookies. The Revo’s are lead by Donnie Lucero (San Diego Lions). Its nerve racking for myself as a rookie – many questions come to mind (am I good enough?, have I trained right?, what will Denmark be like on Wednesday for our first game?). At this level, the game is very mental as well. At 3:30 today we meet up for a light run and stretch. Team meeting afterwards to discuss strategy. Tomorrow will be another practice with hitting as we prepare for our first match Wednesday against Denmark.

Packing...just the basics...

We leave tomorrow departing Milwaukee at 8am via LA leaving at 10:30pm (Friday) and we land in Melbourne (via Auckland) Sunday morning at 9:30am local time. Yep, we skip Saturday. I've packed the basics. You may wonder what one brings with them on a to battle China, Denmark, South Africa, and the rest of the lot.
1. Pop tarts - can't leave the country without them
2. Milwaukee Bombers club jersey to represent
3. Box of Power Bars
4. Milwaukee Bombers club hat to keep the dome warm (its winter/spring down there)
5. Foam roller (self massage method to get the bumps out)
6. Extra pair of cleats
7. USA flag
8. Energy gel to keep moving late in the fourth quarter
9. Gloves (blessed with small hands, smells like cabbage)
10. Arms bands - helps keep the sweat off the hands
11. Fluff - I've come to learn this is a New England thing. It's marshmallow fluff and when mixed on bread with peanut butter...don't knock it before you try it.
12. ALINEs - Athletic insoles. Your feet are your most important part of your body. They fail, you fail. ALINEs help keep me going. Thanks ALINE!
13. Muscle stick - more help to keep the bumps away between matches.

US Footy Team Heads to Melbourne

The US Footy Men's Team will head to Melbourne August 24th, 2008 to participate in the 2008 International Cup. Included in the Revo squad are Milwaukee Bombers Bruce Beilfuss and Andy Vanica.

The third Australian Football International Cup will be staged in Warrnambool and Melbourne in August and September 2008.

The event will feature during the Australian Football 150 year celebrations. Matches will be played in Melbourne from Wednesday August 27 with teams in Warrnambool from Sunday August 31 until Thursday September 4. Two rounds of matches will be played on Reid Oval, Mack Oval and Walter Oval.

Australian Football is played by over 30,000 participants in over 30 countries around the world. This August, over 16 countries will converge in Melbourne and Warrnambool for the third International Cup.

Never before has the Cup hosted this many countries, and the event takes on greater significance this year as Australia celebrates the 150^th birthday of its Indigenous game.

The US Team's road to Melbourne has been captured by a documentary team. Take a gander at the preview!

US Footy News Player Profile

US Footy News has posted player profiles on their website.
Revo Profile: Andy Vanica

Revo Profile: Brett Ullman

Revo Profile: JJ Cisneros

Revo Profile: Jay Levesque

Revo Profile: Luke Nemeth

Revo Profile: Dan Sarbacker

© USFootyNews.com

Preview of the Melbourne grounds

Our first matches take place in Melbourne. Here is a preview of the grounds we will play on courtesy of www.worldfootynews.com.

What is the MCG?

For all that don't know the MCG, it is the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where a majority of the professional footy matches take place. It is equivalent to the Rose Bowl, The Big House (U Mich football), Yankee Stadium, etc. In other words, its a complete honor to play on the field.

US Revolution

US Revolution Jersey

Revolution Ranked #3

World Footy News released the rankings based tournament seed (or is it the other way around?). Here they are:

1 New Zealand
2 PNG
3 USA
4 Ireland
5 Canada
6 South Africa
7 Great Britain
8 Denmark
9 Samoa
10 Nauru
11 Japan
12 Sweden
13 Finland
14 Peres Peace Team
15 China
16 India

The 2005 tournament saw the US lose to Papa New Guinea by one point in the semi-finals. A trip to the finals means a game on the hallowed MCG.

Match Schedule Released

The group fixtures have been released. The Revolution have been placed in Group C, along with China, Denmark, and Sweden. For a complete listing of groups and fixtures, visit here. Team USA commences their journey on August 27 against Denmark. The following round one matches are August 29 vs China and September 1 vs South Africa. Once the first round has been completed, the teams, based on their performance, will enter the bracket portion of the tournament with the Championship match to be played at the MCG.

W\hat is footy?

For those unfamilar with "footy," check out the Milwaukee Bombers web page here.