Just arrived back in England!!
Sept 16, 2019 14:10:15 GMT -5
treblejig, jojonito, and 8 more like this
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2019 14:10:15 GMT -5
Hi Everyone - I've just woken up on Monday evening after catching up on lost sleep! I arrived back in Nottingham on Monday morning after a long Sunday drive to JFK Airport and a long overnight flight home.
Thank you so much to everyone who helped make my trip a truly memorable one - there are so many wonderful, friendly people in the PSU volleyball community but I particularly wanted to mention Richard Fortmann who helped with my pre-trip planning and Jonni Parker's grandparents, Nancy and Jim, who made me feel so welcome and invited me to sit with them on the two match nights. I also met Jonni's sister and mum who are were so vocal and passionate in their support for the team, and Kendall White's grandparents who are great people and so proud of their grand-daughter.
I was honoured to be introduced to Jonni and Kendall - not only are they truly great volleyball players but they are also both fine young women and a credit to their families and their coach. Russ Rose - what a legend - 41 years, wow! Thanks Richard for introducing me to him - he seemed genuinely shocked but flattered that I'd travelled all that way just to watch his team! Russ, let me tell you, it was worth every penny of the £2000 it cost me. I've learned a lot though and reckon I could do it for half that amount when I come again. Penn are a young team and I'm already thinking about returning in two years when Jonni and many of the current team are seniors or juniors.
Talking of 'wow's' the atmosphere in the stadium was everything I hoped it would be after seeing it on my laptop at home. In fact it was even better than I'd hoped! I loved the band, the cheerleaders, and the student section. You are all so lucky to be able to be a part of that and when the Lions next play at home I will be truly sad that I'm not there. In England you would only see that level of support at Premier League Football (Soccer) and International Rugby.
To those who posted about driving and parking, I was able to easily park in the Nittany Deck early on Friday evening and on Saturday I waited till the football fans had mostly left at around 6 and again I got in the deck. I did take peoples' advice and flew in to JFK on Thursday instead of Friday. Driving on the right hand side of the road in a left hand drive car was initially terrifying but I soon adjusted and the drive was made easy by the terrific road signage. There are so many signs, it was easy to get where I wanted to be. I drove out from JFK on I-678, I-95, George Washington Bridge, I-80 (overnight stay in Stroudsburg) and I-99 and drove back to JFK on R-322 Lewistown, I-81, I-78, I-95, Verranzo (?) Bridge and Belt Parkway and didn't make a single wrong turn throughout the whole trip. My only major error was when I got to the parking deck on Friday I turned into the exit area and was suddenly faced with three exiting cars coming straight at me! In England that would have resulted in honking and road rage, but the three drivers just stopped and patiently waited for me to reverse back onto the road!
Most importantly of all, what a great performance by the players. They scared the hell out of Stanford and I think coach Rose was right when he said that Minnesota's win was made possible by how much physical effort Stanford had to produce to beat Penn the previous night. I agree, but also have to say that Minnesota were superb.
Most people I met were amazed that I had come from so far away to watch the matches, bit it wasn't just for the matches, it was for the whole American experience and to use a word much used by Americans, the whole trip was.... AWESOME!!
Thank you so much to everyone who helped make my trip a truly memorable one - there are so many wonderful, friendly people in the PSU volleyball community but I particularly wanted to mention Richard Fortmann who helped with my pre-trip planning and Jonni Parker's grandparents, Nancy and Jim, who made me feel so welcome and invited me to sit with them on the two match nights. I also met Jonni's sister and mum who are were so vocal and passionate in their support for the team, and Kendall White's grandparents who are great people and so proud of their grand-daughter.
I was honoured to be introduced to Jonni and Kendall - not only are they truly great volleyball players but they are also both fine young women and a credit to their families and their coach. Russ Rose - what a legend - 41 years, wow! Thanks Richard for introducing me to him - he seemed genuinely shocked but flattered that I'd travelled all that way just to watch his team! Russ, let me tell you, it was worth every penny of the £2000 it cost me. I've learned a lot though and reckon I could do it for half that amount when I come again. Penn are a young team and I'm already thinking about returning in two years when Jonni and many of the current team are seniors or juniors.
Talking of 'wow's' the atmosphere in the stadium was everything I hoped it would be after seeing it on my laptop at home. In fact it was even better than I'd hoped! I loved the band, the cheerleaders, and the student section. You are all so lucky to be able to be a part of that and when the Lions next play at home I will be truly sad that I'm not there. In England you would only see that level of support at Premier League Football (Soccer) and International Rugby.
To those who posted about driving and parking, I was able to easily park in the Nittany Deck early on Friday evening and on Saturday I waited till the football fans had mostly left at around 6 and again I got in the deck. I did take peoples' advice and flew in to JFK on Thursday instead of Friday. Driving on the right hand side of the road in a left hand drive car was initially terrifying but I soon adjusted and the drive was made easy by the terrific road signage. There are so many signs, it was easy to get where I wanted to be. I drove out from JFK on I-678, I-95, George Washington Bridge, I-80 (overnight stay in Stroudsburg) and I-99 and drove back to JFK on R-322 Lewistown, I-81, I-78, I-95, Verranzo (?) Bridge and Belt Parkway and didn't make a single wrong turn throughout the whole trip. My only major error was when I got to the parking deck on Friday I turned into the exit area and was suddenly faced with three exiting cars coming straight at me! In England that would have resulted in honking and road rage, but the three drivers just stopped and patiently waited for me to reverse back onto the road!
Most importantly of all, what a great performance by the players. They scared the hell out of Stanford and I think coach Rose was right when he said that Minnesota's win was made possible by how much physical effort Stanford had to produce to beat Penn the previous night. I agree, but also have to say that Minnesota were superb.
Most people I met were amazed that I had come from so far away to watch the matches, bit it wasn't just for the matches, it was for the whole American experience and to use a word much used by Americans, the whole trip was.... AWESOME!!
