AthletiNation

Future teammates,

In the spirit of blogging, I promise to be as informal in my discourse as possible with a hint of inside jokes that will clearly be for my own personal enjoyment.  Of course, if you want to be included on the inside it’ll cost you.  Handsomely.

And I suppose it’s appropriate for me to introduce myself since my name and face will be attached to this document/endeavor so, ahem, I am Jimmy Conrad and I play soccer.  My career has been an interesting one and it still continues.  I am currently with the U.S. National Team at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California as we prepare in the short term for Sweden on January 19^th and in the long term for World Cup Qualifying, which begins in June.

My roommate is Landon Donovan, resident heartthrob and poster boy for all that is right with this sport in this country, and he’s sick.  Flu, cold, hemorrhoids, I don’t know what as long as he stays away from me.  We train hard and often, eat and sleep in between, and do it all over again.  I wish I could romanticize the experience with glamour and starry eyes but it’s nothing more than sweat and perseverance so I’ll leave you with this:

I’m walking back to my room and from down the hall I spot the cleaning lady’s multipurpose cart near my room’s vicinity.  As I approach she is nowhere to be seen so I slide my key in the slot, wait for the green light to blink, and push the door open.  She’s not in there either.  I close the door behind me, empty the contents of my pockets onto the bed, grab the Life section of the USA Today, and head into the tile and mirrored portion of my room.  I flick on the light, settle myself on the porcelain throne, and drift off into a peaceful bliss until I hear a few faint knocks on the outside door.  I hurry to tidy up but before I finish, the bathroom door whips open and it’s just me without pants, toilet paper in hand, paralyzed.  The cleaning lady makes eye contact with the “situation,” slams the door, slams the other door, and exits the room.  I remain frozen from what just occurred and smile.

I love National Team Camp.

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