TicketsOct. 5, 2006
Throughout the 2006-07 school year, select UC student-athletes will share their experiences on and off the field with Bearcat fans through CATSblogs. These student-athletes will take you in to the life of a Bearcat and share their struggles and triumphs. Fans can email their favorite CATSblogger here! Be sure to include your name and hometown.
Kim Sykes is a sophomore defender for the UC women's soccer team. She is majoring in psychology and pre-med and is a captain for the 2006 Bearcats.
October 23, 2006
This weekend we had some fun in the hotel we stayed at, like always. On Saturday night we had an earlier-than-normal dinner, so later that night some of my teammates were just a little hungry. So Rachael Epps, Amy May, Chelsea Kindschuh, and Heather Haney all decided to head to the vending machines to look for some ice cream and some candy. I personally did not know that vending machines even had ice cream, but apparently they do.
As soon as they got to the vending machine, Ray Ray put in her money for some Sour Patch Kids. According to Ray Ray, after she pushed the button for the candy, not one but TWO packages came down. Ray Ray jumped for joy and because of her "really kind spirits" (her words) she gave one to froshy Stephanie Brindle, who was desperate and extremely exicted to get some candy. Next it was Amy May's turn. She looked in the vending machine and scanned what was offered. She decided to skip the food called "Big as Hot Dog" because she was a little scared of what that may be. May looked into the vending machine and to her delight she saw that they had fudge popsicles. So she put in her money and pushed the button for the popsicle.
What happens next depends on who you ask. Some claimed that those around the vending machine were "helping the food fall" (we won't say how) and others just say that the vending machine was really broken. Who knows, but Amy May ended up getting a free popsicle. Due to her "kind spirits" (Ray Ray's words), she gave her extra ice cream to Ray Ray. Ray Ray loved it and the two were set for the night.
Next was . You may recall as my roomie and also as the person who brings along Catch Phrase on our away trips. So had patiently waited her turn to get what she wanted from the vending machine. Even though loves chocolate chip cookies, she saw an almond bar and decided that even though I wasn't her roomie on this trip, her stay in the hotel would be truly amazing if she only had an almond bar. What exactly is an almond bar? In her own words, it is a "chocolately thing with ice cream and with almonds on top." Now we know!
So to 's surprise, not one, but two "chocolately things" came out of the vending machine. Clearly this vending machine was broken, or else people were doing some crazy things just to get free food. Just as Chels' second almond bar had dropped, Haney eyed the vending machine and saw that behind the third almond bar was a bean burrito. Haney screams: "We're gonna win a bean burrito...we're gonna win a bean burrito!!!" Immediately everyone started to laugh, but it turns out unfortunately no bean burrito ever came out, or in Haney's terminology, no bean burrito was won.
This was not the end of the vending machine's usage that night. Later, while I was in another room, Erin MacDonald decided that she was extremely thirsty. She didn't want to drink the water from the faucet in our room, so she asked Andrea Kaminski for some money and then went to the vending machine, which was apparently out of water.
Just as she got her pop, the coaches walked by looking for her. Immediately when they saw her, EMac tried to hide the pop behind her back, of course inadvertently drawing more attention to it. After the coaches asked her what was behind her back, she reluctantly showed them... but when they asked her about it she told her she was buying it for her roommate. Who was her roommate? Me! So EMac walked back into our room to talk with the coaches, and put down the pop and said: "I'll just leave this here for Kim...it's where she wanted me to put it." Of course the coaches knew she was only kidding, but when I walked in later they asked me about it and I was very confused...
Other amusing things happened on the way home on our plane ride. Brindle went to the bathroom on the plane, and when she came back she had a stunned look on her face. We asked her what was going on, and she said "I didn't know planes had sinks on them!" It was funny if you were there. I sat by Heather Neiser, who has a fear of planes and as a result I actually wasn't sure if I'd be able to write this blog today due to how hard she squeezed my hand on the plane ride!! But anyway, I thought I'd finish off the blog today with some funny quotes by Neiser during the trip. At the beginning of the flight, Neiser nervously asked me: "Who is that lady standing in the front of the plane commanding everyone around?" I explained to her that it was the flight attendant. Then she asked me if the movie "Snakes on a Plane" was based off a true story! Lastly, she turned to me and asked: "Why is there a man on the button overhead of us?" while at the same time pushing the button!!
Check back in soon to read more about UC Women's Soccer....
#5
October 16, 2006
This weekend started off with us traveling to , to play . It was 20 degrees there, so it was a pretty big change when on Sunday we were playing in 75 degree weather in ! We were lucky though that the wind died down for our game Friday night because Friday morning the wind was so strong it was blowing Meridy over! We came away with a win on Sunday, which means we now have seven wins this season.
This week we travel to on Thursday, and play them on Friday night like always. On Saturday we then travel to Seton Hall and we'll play them this Sunday the 22nd. Depending on how these games turn out, those could be our last two games before the Big East conference, or we may play Notre Dame on Tuesday the 24th at home because it was rained out when we were originally scheduled to play.
On the topic of our last games, Jo Jo and I were sitting by each other on the plane ride back from , and we were both thinking about how this season has gone by so fast. Because the Bengals had a game in , basically everyone on the plane was either a Bengals fan or a UC Women's soccer player, so everybody kept yelling "who dey" over and over, even though they lost. I bet Kate Norton and Gigi Ernst didn't like it, since they like the Steelers! I sat by someone who had their face painted orange and black and had on their Bengals jersey... He asked if we were cheerleaders for the , and we all laughed and told him that actually we play soccer!!
I'm headed to class but check back in soon...
Kim Sykes #5
October 10, 2006
Having the 1981 and 1986 Bearcats at Gettler Stadium Friday night truly got the team motivated and helped us defeat . I actually found out that the captain on the 1981 team is the daughter of a family friend! My other favorite teams this weekend also came away with some victories. The Bengals didn't play, but the UC Football team won on Saturday versus and the volleyball team won as well. Then the national team beat when Abby Wambach scored in stoppage time in the second half. Afterwards, she said that "it was not the prettiest of goals, but some of them aren't. And that's what true strikers do, they just score. It's not how. It's how many." Our team showed this mentality on Friday night when Becky Imhoff scored on a rebound shot, and that ended up being the game-winning goal of the night.
This weekend we travel to and down to USF on Sunday. We actually leave pretty early on Thursday morning and then we will train at when we get there. Today I have class pretty much all morning and then I head to practice at 1. Then I have night class and I'll probably come back, do some homework, and get some sleep so I am rested for the weekend. Check back in soon to hear more about your favorite team...
Kim Sykes #5
October 5, 2006
This weekend is a busy weekend for athletics here at UC. For women's soccer, this weekend includes our last two home games of the season. We play on Friday and undefeated Villanova on Sunday. That means you only have two more games at home to come see this season, so you better come!! Not only do we have two home games this weekend, but this weekend is Alumni Weekend at UC. On Friday, some of the UC Women's Soccer teams from the past will be at the game and honored at halftime. Both the teams were very successful and it will be an honor to meet them. Then on Sunday, since it is our last home game, it is Senior Recognition Day. It is unbelievable that the seniors won't be with us next year; they will be missed by everyone.
Our seniors have so much personality and I have loved playing with them these past two seasons. I will miss my loyal friend Jess Legge's unmistakable laugh and of course her Adidas shoes she made into Nike ones....just ask her about it, I am still shocked. Then there are Amy May's pranks on Gigi (does Gigi know this yet?) and of course her phrase "I'm a Bearcat," which is pretty much a team joke you probably don't understand. We will all miss Amy May's jokes, but our team will really miss her leadership as well. Of course I will miss playing defense with Grandma Roushy because we have had some pretty crazy times at defense together...but I'm still hoping maybe she can come back for a seventh year because I will really miss her CRAZY jokes. Also, on a side note, I'll really miss seeing Roushy dance at Red Cheetah.
Then Ana Farmer, my favorite foreigner: I will miss her accent which I wish I had, and the talks we have had, and I will miss her amazing moves that she does on the field. Just thinking about Farmer not being around makes me sad. Another amazing competitor is Kate Norton. Sometime last year we started doing a pre-game ritual. Now, we HAVE to do it or I basically freak out. The only problem is, EVERY GAME when it is time for our "ritual," we can't find each other...I swear she's always hidden! But finally I'll see her or she'll see me basically scanning everyone, looking for the other person, getting nervous... it is hilarious and I will miss it. On a more serious note, when I was just a little freshman, Kate really helped me out so it is hard to see her go... Soccer without the irreplaceable Anna "Mexi" Barrett will be hard to swallow because Anna Barrett is so funny and can make anyone in a good mood no matter what. This girl is the best teammate EVER, I kid you not. Whenever I needed ANYTHING, Barrett was always the one to help, even when it wasn't even her responsibility. I will miss her because whenever something is wrong, I go to Mexi, and she helps me!!
Then there is Ray Ray (Rachel), who I have really become close with this year. You must understand that Rachel is going to be famous some day, it is just how it is meant to be...she is an amazing person all around; I'm going to miss her so much. If our team had to pick one person for any motivational speech, it would be Ray Ray...I will really miss her inspirational talks! She has such heart and, like said, is a natural leader...haha we have had some good times together. Heather Haney I will miss so much because she is always in a good mood and she is always there for me. In the past, Heather gave me confidence when I needed it most, and I'm not sure if she even knows that, haha. Lastly, I love watching Heather play because she has so much talent and I'll really miss that.
Last but not least, Becky Imhoff will really be missed. I will miss her calling me Kimpossible haha, but more importantly, our team will miss her because she is so selfless, so talented, and she basically raises the level of all those around her. Right away when I came to the team last year, I could tell she was THE leader that everyone looked to, on the field and off, and I'm so glad we are teammates and I really think it is an honor to play with her.
Anyway, besides our games at home, the volleyball team plays Villanova at home this weekend, the football team plays at Nippert Stadium, and then the men's soccer team will play USF at home as well. You should definitely go watch the men's game because the men's team is now #15 in the nation.
Check back in soon for updates,
Kim Sykes #5