the Granite Falls Flames lose in a downpour

the GF Flames dropped to 1-4 this morning with a loss to the Golden Eagles at home. Our Favorite, Loren, started the game at left midfield, and made some excellent plays before being pulled for a breather about halfway through the first half. the Flames seemed a little out of focus for the first half, playing loosely, without much organization. Coach Rusch called the team far from the parents and spectators during halftime. Loren's report of the halftime speech was that Coach told them, "you're playing like a joke, you need to play better or else you're going to lose every single game." the forceful speech must have taken hold, because the Flames came out charged up and played with much greater unity. the drizzle became full-on rain by halftime, and steadily grew into a downpour by the end of the game. the two teams stuggled on a field that was at times more lake than ground, and the Flames pulled out a winning second half, outscoring their opponents 1-0. unfortunately for them, it wasn't enough to secure a win. driving back to the car, Loren made the observation that he was the only Flame to come off the field with a smile on his face, and mentioning his happiness to have been able to play soccer this morning. that's m'boy. he's played through 3.5 seasons of soccer now, without ever scoring a goal, and he goes out there and tries his best every game (granted his first two seasons he spent playing defense). here's hoping when he does finally score one i'm there with a camera at the ready!

here's a couple from today's game:

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the ball just came off Loren's foot


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great shot of Loren on the sideline a little before halftime


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another great shot of Loren, gettin' a smooch from his mom


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Loren making a play on the ball


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Loren shot me driving home from the game- soakin' wet, water dripping off my ear!


as always, all the full size shots and some short videos are in my online album.

can't resist posting the link to this khoul little vid Loren shot and entitled "the crap video", in which he said "crap" a million times in a row.

enjoy :)

the Granite Falls Flames get a win!

playing an outstanding game on the road in the 4th week of the 2004 season, the Flames played a tough hour of ball against the Panthers, capturing their first win with a final score of 6-1 or 7-1....where's the offical score-keeper when you need him?! our hero Loren made fine play after fine play and took a great shot on goal early in the game, which was ultimately blocked by the keeper. Loren started the game and played the majority of the first half, and was sent back in for the entire second half. He played a solid game for 50+ minutes of soccer at midfield and forward.

thanks to both my sisters, both my nephews (including guest photographer Ethan) and Mom, especially for the use of an extra memory stick when i'd completely filled my 64 Mb stick. 95 pictures and short videos of the game are all posted in my online album; i'll post a few of the better shots soon, when i've had a chance to edit them down to web-size.

friday at last

sometimes the week just can't go quick enough. picked up Loren from soccer practice and now it's time to hang out and spend some time together. cigarette's finished and so am i.