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Day 4, March 23, 2005
By Megan Norling
Here we are four days into our trip and we are finding ourselves exhausted, yet at the same time more curious then the day we got here. Not to say that any day in Italy is ordinary, but this day was definitely out of the norm, at least for the last three hours.
Day four started off early, just as the previous days, but today a much bigger physical challenge faced us. We were up and off to practice by eight o’clock. It took a little while to get focused, after all we are in a different country, but we eventually figured it out. We practiced in a basketball arena for one of their professional basketball teams, so needless to say we felt important. We just had to pretend there was a sellout crowd. During our practice we got to meet and talk with University of Minnesota All Star and Olympian-USA-National-Team-Star Lindsey Berg. Lindsey plays on one of twelve professional teams in Italy’s A1 Division, and we had plenty of questions to ask her. Her speech was inspirational, just as the coaches asked for. Thanks Lindsey for taking the time to come out and meet us!
“Lindsey’s Photo Gallery:”
After practice we headed back to the hotel to shower and eat, as usual that was a long process. As lunch went on our curiosity was getting the best of us; we wanted to explore this new town (Pesaro). The second our coaches opened their mouths we were up and racing toward the front door, we knew there was a whole day of shopping in front of us. In two groups we headed for the center of the city. Out of every place in the city the ice cream stores were gaining the most profit. We have all learned to fit Gelato into our diets, some three or four times a day.
Eating well in Italy as usual
By six o’clock we were indulging in more pasta for dinner and preparing to see Lindsey’s team play in their last regular season match. Lets just say the ride there was the start of the eventful evening. We took the city bus and felt like we were traveling at mach speeds racing in and out of cars. At first it appeared to be just like any volleyball match that I had been to. There were quite a few fans there, and of course some noise makers, but at that point we had no idea what was coming. As the players took their places on the court the opposing fans began to throw roll upon roll of toilet paper onto the court, waving enormous flags, and lighting sparklers.
The Santeramo “Boys” were crazy fans
By the time everyone was able to clean all of the toilet paper off the floor five minutes had gone by and the noise level was at an all time high. From the very beginning the intensity of the game was high, and it was awesome to see Lindsey Berg in action just as most of us saw her a few years ago in maroon and gold. The skill level in the game was incredible; there were ten-foot hits, game saving digs, and not to forget the impressive setting from both sides of the net. When the game started our team felt extremely inspired to go out on the court and play with everything we had. Which, in my opinion, is a good feeling to have before we go into a huge international tournament. Throughout the match the noise continued and decibels increased, especially when the fans thought there was a bad call. There were some choice words involved, but all in Italian, which I guess, made it a little funnier. After the game everyone was exhausted so we headed back to the hotel. When we got back to the hotel we some how gained up enough energy to hit the Gelato shop for a final time that day. Once our ice cream craving was satisfied we all went our separate ways, got ready for bed, and at that point started to think about tomorrow.
Editor’s Note: Scavolini Robursport Pesaro (Lindsey’s Team) ended up losing a nail-biting 5 set match 2-3, but still secured 4 th place in the regular season and home court advantage for their 1 st round playoff match-up with Jesi. Their opponent for the night was the 9 th place team from Santeramo which is the home team of Heather Bown (USA National Team and U. of Hawaii All-American) and Lily Kahumoku (U. of Hawaii All-American). We want to send “Mile Grazie” to Otello, Guisepe, and Lindsey for their unbelievable hospitality and efforts in making our stay in Pesaro so great. We wish them all the luck in the world for the playoffs and would love to see them get to the Finals of the Italian Serie A1 Championships. We also send our thanks to those fans of Robursport Pesaro that helped us all get home in their cars after the match! Grazie a tutti!
Other Interesting Links for fans of Lindsey, Lily, Heather, or their teams:
Scavolini Pesaro, Club Home Page:
Scavolini Pesaro, Italian Lega Official Page:
Lindsey’s Bio from the Club Home Page:
Lindsey Berg, Italian Lega Official Page:
Alfieri Volley Santeramo Homepage:
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