Speaking of our teams, they both come back from Mexico having lost the war but winning a few battles in the process.
Our women were able to beat Mexico in the 7th place final after losing the previous 2 meetings, including the loss for 5th place at the recent Norceca Championships. They were also able to push the Dominican Republic to 5 games by playing very well during the whole match. It will be interesting to see how the Dominicans fare at the World Cup, which starts today in Japan. Lupo's team showed flashes of greatness at times, but not consistently enough throughout. The future will tell if we learned our lesson.
Our (young) men's team also showed great promise. The team finished 6th overall, in front or Puerto Rico's and Venezuela's A teams. The win against the USA was undoubtedly the highlight of this tournament, while the loss to same team for 5th place left everyone with a few regrets. But here again, there is a lesson to be learned…
I wish everyone could experience what I went through since October 11. I want to do this again, but I hope next time will be at the Olympics.
I want to thank the Team Canada staff for their professionalism (Lupo, Scott, David, Ben, Vincent, Denis, Chris and Mathieu). I especially want to thank the COC and Brian Edey who made my job a lot easier.
I'll leave you with 2 David Letterman's top 10 lists.
If you want to read my daily blogs from the beginning, click here: http://jeuxpanamgames.blogspot.com/
Hasta la vista, baby.
TOP 10 THINGS HEARD THE MOST OFTEN DURING THE GAMES
Our server at the Mexican restaurant on the last 2 nights |
10- Buenos dias
9- Please, wait 5 minutes
8- Do you have pins ?
7- Everybody here ?
6- Mé-hi-co…Mé-hi-co
5- What time is the bus ?
4- Let's go to Starbucks
3- Got any cash ?
2- What time do you play today ?
.. and the #1 thing heard the most often during the Games:
1- Do you have a pin?
TOP 10 GREATEST THINGS ABOUT THE 2011 PAN AM GAMES
10- Being able to walk to the Ceremonies
9- The quality of the volunteers at the Volleyball venue
8- The Canadian clothing
7- The friendliness of the volunteers
6- The little Mexican restaurant close to the Village (see picture)
5- Starbucks and Dominoes in the Village
4- The Canadian team spirit
3- Guadalajara's weather (sunny and dry)
2- The volleyball venue
… and the #1 greatest things about the 2011 Pan Am Games:
1- The efficiency of the Canadian Olympic Committee staff