Game Day by Julie Wicher, Sirens Half Back Perspectives Editorial Volume 1, Issue 3 September 10, 2002 Everyone has their own way to prepare for a game. I had actually started counting down the hours a couple days before game day arrived. Each time I looked at a clock the first thing that entered my mind was how much closer it was to 6:00 Saturday night. Nervousness, excitement and confidence all became scrambled. I have always been an anxious person, so to have patience and just sit and wait was very difficult. To make things worse, there were a few uniforms (including mine) that were on order and were supposed to be ready on Friday September 6th ; the day before the game. Our quarterback Leilani decided to throw a team dinner that Friday; one last carbo load. It's nice to get together with others on the team and talk about things other than pass plays and tackling drills; we are women after all. This particular evening actually ended up being a dinner/sewing party. Our uniforms had arrived but we still needed to sew our team emblem on the front and names on the back. Time is a funny thing. When you're waiting anxiously for something to happen it seems to take forever. Finally it arrives and before you know it what you've been waiting for has come and gone. Saturday September 7th, 3:30 p.m., game day. Individual preparation continues. Some players like to take some time to walk the field. This may be to check for divots or uneven areas of grass, to get a feel for the surface, or to meditate and clear the mind. Others like to socialize in the locker room, at this time pre-game preparation is still up to the individual player. Once again my impatience got the best of me. I was barely in the locker room five minutes before I began putting on my uniform. Now fully dressed, I had 45 minutes to wait before the coaches were going to give us their pre-game talk. After about ten minutes I began to sweat and had to go outside just to cool off. A locker room is a funny place. Although there is no assigned areas, it always happens that people segregate to a certain place depending on their position on the team. Defense ends up in one area, offense in another. This is not to say that we do not all get along; quite the opposite. There is nothing short of respect between ALL players on this team. Superstitions also come in to play here. Some returning players need to get ready in the same place as they did the year before. Other players have to get dressed in a certain order, wear a certain pair of socks, fix their hair a certain way, etc. I eat the same meal at the same time before each game. I also make sure to shake hands with my coaches and tell them I'm ready. After final words of preparation we take the field. We march out as one team. We march out silently. We march out with determination and focus, knowing our mission as individual players and as a team.     Back