Disney Day 3: Continued

Well LP still has the good pics from this day on his computer at work, but I can improvise. If I don't, this thing may not be completed by my NEXT trip to Disney, and from the looks of it, that would not be good for my readership!

Once we arrived at WWOSports, we were overwhelmed with the crowds! Lots of soccer going on. We had a game at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. With the heat rising, it was going to be very interesting to see how Miss M would hold up.

The cheerleaders were also there and helped us all get into the mood!

Rug was a sub on this 3v3 team, and I was a little nervous about how she would do. She was also the only 7-year-old on the team, the rest were 8 years old. I don't know the rules to 3v3 very well. basically all kicks are direct, but you cannot score over the centerfield line. Also if the opposing player is in their own goal box, and touches the ball, it is an automatic goal for the other team. These are also very short games, divided into 12 minute halves.

The 2:00 p.m. game started on like gangbusters. Rug looked like she was there to play. She even scored a goal! (again, I wanted to show that video, but LP has the USB cord so blah) They won, with the end score being 5-2.

Rug wanted a light snack, so I went to wait in line for a couple of cheeseburgers.

***yet another mrtl tangent***
I have been to SEVERAL soccer tournaments. This was not any different than any other, except it was at Disney. There were not enough Port-a-Potties, and the line at the concession stand was long. Naturally. ****end tangent****

Standing in line, an elderly man in the line next to me begins to get agitated. I could immediately see the escalation of his impatience.

"This is ridiculous! These lines are unacceptable! There aren't enough concession stands! Didn't they prepare for us?"

On and on he went.

A man in front of him tried to defuse the bomb. "I've been to a lot of these, it's always the same," he lightheartedly said to the man.

"Yeah, but this is DISNEY." Oh, great rationalization there. Uh, Disney is KNOWN for long lines, what the hell???

So as he in on his tirade, he is also creeping his way towards the front of the line. Now, remember, he and I are parallel to one another, there are just as many people in front of me as they are him. Next he starts berating the employees. "THey are just standing there! They can wait on me! What is going on up there, this is UNACCEPTABLE!" (in fact, there were two employees in the middle--they were only in charge of the sodas/drinks, and had no cash register.)

Finally we get to the front, and he is getting ready to give his order, and he looks at me with one last comment, but before I let him talk I said, "Well look at that. You even got your food BEFORE I did. Thank you for making my wait in line enjoyable." Al was laughing so hard she could barely put her ketchup on her burger. What a curmudgeon!! Hopefully next time he will let someone else get the burgers!

Well the 3:30 game was a disaster. We lost 5-3 and Rug did NOT play very well. Of course it was my fault, I let her have a cheeseburger. Damn, I really got a lot of grief over that one cheeseburger!

The 5:00 game will go down in history as the biggest clustermuck in soccer game-ry. First off, we couldn't get a referee. That was a little frustrating. Even if it was "Disney"!! Then we got a referee that was, no joke, as old as Al if not younger. He told us he was 10. But he was certified, so whatever. Next, we were playing a team with very tight braids and they all had the same red ties in their hair. So they looked pretty menacing. No really, tight braids in soccer mean BUSINESS.

Right away we scored. 1-0. We dominated the entire game, and the 10-year-old referee was pretty capable, fair for both sides. The Braids were putting up a good game.

Now here is where my 3v3 knowledge gets sketchy. I am guessing the 10-year-old ref had an official watch to keep track of how long the game lasted. In 3v3, the time DOES NOT STOP. Ever. Not for injuries, or throw-ins, not at all. The game keeps goin.

So apparently, some of the parents on the sidelines ALSO have stopwatches to keep track of time for their own benefit. And, as we all know, parents overrule any stupid ref, right? I mean, come on, especially a 10-year-old ref, right??? You see where this could go, yeah?

(for the record, I didn't have a watch until the END of this trip)

The second half is almost over, and like in slow motion, the ref blows the whistle for the game, and the other team slides to kick the ball.........and it goes in.

Unbelievable right? Pretty awesome for this little girl on the other team, right?

Suddenly, two of the parents on OUR team start screaming "No, that was only 9 minutes! WE still have more time left to go! THis is wrong! No!!!

I mean screaming. I start packing my stuff up to go, because this just can't be good. Our coach comes over and these parents are freaking. Out. "Aren't you gonig to do something? We spent thousands of dollars to come here and you aren't going to protest? Is ANYONE going to do anything????"

This guy was going Cuckoo for Coco Puffs.

But here's the thing. Okay, I would have been right with them if they said the game had gone OVER. Like, the game was over when she made the goal. But no, that's not what he was saying. He was saying there was more time LEFT. So WTF? Then that gives them time to BEAT US and score again, you jackhole. Plus look, just because YOUR watch said that, does not mean it was right. Whew, whatever. Go get yourself a hamburger at the concession stand, that should cheer you right up.

Our coach comes over, says he discussed it with the head referee and there is nothing more he can do. Still these parents are totally not satisfied. They continue on their rant, blasting the coach and a shouting match ensued, making our whole team look like pinheads and the term "AWWW-KWARD" truly living up to its reputation.

After looking back on it, LP and I discussed it later that night and were both struggling with what we could have done to alleviate the situation. The best we came up with was just saying, 'hey, not in front of the kids', because by the time they were done, two kids were crying and two others were confused as all hell.

In the end, it turned out that winning or tying gave us the same result, and we still made it to the second round. So all the fussing was for naught.

Silly adults, will they ever learn?
Here's a reenactment of the scene!

Our game Sunday was at noon. So we got to play again.

After that debacle, we returned to our hotel room. Another storm was blowing in, and it was pouring down. The forecast had shown lots of rain the whole time we were supposed to be there, but this turned out to be the only rain we saw.

It was fun running to the food court for dinner, getting drenched but not caring. Gave us a little levity. After all LP and I had no expectations for this tournament, we were just excited to be there. Obviously not everyone shared that feeling!

LP and I both had big chicken caesar salads (pretty good for food court food) and we sat with our coach and his wife and kids trying to make sense of it. Luckily for us it was the beginning of our trip. Sadly for them it was the last few days of theirs.

We got to bed early, rain will always do that to you.

Next up: Sunday Day 4: No More Soccer and the Coldest Day we are There But Wait...Did I Win a Year of a Million Dreams Prize???

"But it's DISNEY!!!"