University of Tennessee Athletics
Monica Abbott's Olympic Diary
August 09, 2008 | Softball
Hey Everyone!!!
Okay, so pool play is over now, we have one day off and then the medal rounds start, and the stakes get raised even higher.Since, I last wrote, we have been busy. I pitched Team USA's first perfect game in Olympic history vs. the Netherlands. The game lasted only 5 innings, because our offense is amazing. There was also some stellar defensive plays by Laura Berg and Lovie Jung. It's so awesome to see everyone getting fired up on all aspects of the game, and having so much support for each other.
Natasha Watley and I are going to try and make it to the track tonight to see some of the events, and other than that we are resting up and getting ready to go for medal rounds. My family is having a good time here too, they are meeting lots of people and are so excited. My dad has his "hand in the stands". It's the one he used to use when I was at the World Series, but my Mom made some USA sleeves for it. It's awesome!
Talk to you Soon.
God Bless,
Monica #14
www.monicaabbott.net
August 13, 2008
Hey Everyone!!!
I'm checking in from Athlete Services in the Olympic Village. It's where any U.S. athlete can come to call family, use the internet, find tickets for other events and hang out. It's a great for us, there's a lot of information for us to take in, and they have all the answers to our questions.
They have made it rain several times since I last wrote, and we were lucky enough to have a beautiful day at the field today. We played Venezuela, in the opening round. Jennie Finch started the game, you could tell everyone of us was intense and amped up for the game, I have a hunch we will be like this every game.
I got in the last inning so I could get my feet wet. Get my first inning under my belt. As I was standing in the dugout waiting to go on defense I could feel the butterflies and nerves starting to grow. I just kept trying to take deep breaths, and talk to Finch about the umpire so that I would stay focused. I was hoping to pull off the look of calm, but in reality I was psyched! I just had to remember that it's still the game I played when I was 11 years old, keep the butterflies flying in formation! The first pitch I let it all out.
Normally, I take a pretty firm step at the end of my pitch, but today, during the first pitch my firm step turned into more of "Flying Jump/slam/step!" I'm just glad it was called a strike! After that I was able to stay calm and focus on the things that I needed to do for the team's success. My teammates were awesome too, they keep me calm.
God Bless,
Monica #14
www.monicaabbott.net
August 9, 2008
Hi All!
Where do I begin? So much has happened in the last 2 days. Let me start at opening ceremonies. I must say I will never forget the feeling of walking into that stadium, united as one country, one delegation. Right before we walked in, as I stood in the tunnel, the chant started...U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A. The entire team bellowed through the hall and as we stepped onto the track we were amazed, overwhelmed and so incredibly happy. I HAVE never smiled that much! Every time we saw "old glory" we went crazy. It was the most incredible feeling. We were so happy! Every person, from your everyday celebrity athletes to the person no has ever heard of, we all turned into a the little "KID" inside of us all! ...The flag was raised and then the torch was lit, by a man running side ways in the sky! It was crazy! But as the torch was lit, everyone knew what that meant- GAME ON!
Before opening ceremonies, we had such a great time. We got ready took lots of pictures, met bunches of people. The president spoke to the US delegation and then took pictures with each team. I took pictures with as many Tennessee Alumni as possible ( Go Vols!). It was an amazing evening. So amazing that I don't even want to mention how incredibly HOT it was! We were sweating through our parade outfits! The other cool thing was seeing all the other countries parade outfits. I'm sure glad we had Ralph Lauren do the design, it was awesome! A very preppy, summer wedding type of feel, but came across great. Good Job!
Today we had practice. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, President Bush showed up and talked to us, watched us warm up and take BP. ...and just when I thought that was great our team "prankster"
Laura Berg got the president with her classic, "Chalk Handprint" on the back, full five fingers and everything! It was awesome. We were all cracking up, he didn't have a clue. But we eventually told him he "Got Berg-ied", but I think we could have let him walk around all day like that. It was perfectly executed! No bigger prank than on the president, I vote her to the Hall of Fame!
After practice, we had the official softball press conference. I'm enjoying every minute, and trying to reach my quota of meeting 2 new people each day. So far, so good.
Monica
