So it seems like ages since I last updated this. To be honest a lot has happened in the past 3 weeks or so.
The biggest thing was that we lost 3-2 in games in the semi finals, which felt heart breaking, after losing the first game away 3-0, we come home and won 3-0, it was possibly our best performance of the season, we served them off the court, we then traveled away and lost 3-2 in a tight game that could of gone either way, unfortunately it didnt go for us. So it was back home for game 4 and a must win game, we managed to pull out a 3-1 win after losing the first, then winning a tight 2nd set. So then it was to game 5 on april fools day, winner goes to the final. So it was time to get out the gret quotes an listen to motivational speeches. The first set we played like rabbits caught in headlights, there was no pressure on us, we were the lowest ranked seed left playing the top ranked seed, yet it felt like everything as on us. The second set was tight until a few mental errors at the end of the set cost us, so then to the 3rd set that was a must win, to cut the story short we were 24-17 down and fought back to even have set point at 26-25, but there was to be no fairytail ending as we lost 28-26 and with that the season was over. It was one of the most gutting feelings I have ever had playing sport, that the work for the past 7 months that we had put in had come to an end as the ball hit our defender and sailed in to the stands, then to look over and see the celebrations of linkoping and there fans. Its a feeling i hope i dont have to experience again anytime soon. After the pain come the "If's" and "buts", what if this had been different, what if this had happened etc. Looking back on the season it has been a good season for us, we have battled through a whole lot of issues, especially at the start of the season, being constantly over looked by the media in favour of the Engelholm girls, and some toss ice hockey team from engleholm that has just got relegated, yet they get more pages in the newspaper than a Wags night out and only slightly less pages than Zlatan breaking a nail. However, the way the season ended still hurts, the ideal of course would have been to win the gold, but the manner in which we played game 5 sort of tarnished the past 7 months of hard work, i think the pain would be less if we had gone out and laid it all out so there wouldn't have been the if's and buts. Yet it seemed something was missing on that thursday evening in Linkoping.
So now it means no more volleyball for a few months, and the chance to chill and relax for my last few weeks in sweden, party a bit, and go and support the lovely ladies in Engelholm as they are in the final. I enjoyed a good two days of partying this weekend for my birthday, I have been extremely lucky in the friends I have made in the short period of time that I have been here, so it made me happy that a lot of them came over to help celebrate my birthday, even if my Birthday twin and the rest of the Engelholm girls could only stay on the soft stuff as they had a game the day after. Playing 'arrogance' with swedish people is fun, they seem to enjoy the game, yet are grossed out by it at the same time.
This summer is yet a mystery for me and where i will be and what i will be doing, although watching the world cup will be top of the list. I will however miss the people that I have become friends with in sweden and the people that have made me feel welcome since day 1. I may never see them again, as they may move on or I may move on, but they have still made my stay here amazing.
One thing that has bugged me over the past few weeks is sporting officials mainly in football and volleyball, am not using this as an excuse as to why we lost, but when it comes to play offs you expect strong, down the middle officiating, yet it didnt come, in both series against Linkoping and Hylte, for all teams involved there were terrible calls, these people have players, teams and coaches fates and futures in their hands and they dick about like it doesnt matter and it pissed me off even more when you ask the ref after the game about his calls and he just smiles and winks at you, Knobhead. In football united where piss poor in the first half against chelsea, and deserve to be 1-0 at half time, Drogba's goal was a world class finish that all you could do was applaud, however he was 3 yards offside, stood infront of the linesman, how did he not flag, his job is to put his flag up and he couldnt manage that, in possibly the game that has decided the title race. I dont understand how fifa keeps putting off the development of technology in football, but how can they ignore it when so called officials are making more and more mistakes in big games. So in the past few weeks, my season has come crashing down, and so has Uniteds, all i need now is England to lose the world cup on penalty's to Portugal and that will be the hat-trick.
I think karma has caught up with me, and my laughing at children, yesterday at school, the first day out in the sun with the kids, i was chasing after a tennis ball, slipped and sprained my ankle, this was after a kid, twice in a row went to catch a ball missed it and hit him in the face. Obviously I laughed, maybe I used up all my 'laughing at children' points and it was there turn to get back at me. Oh well could be worse, could be in the finals and have to sit out....
