Road Trip by Julie Wicher, Sirens Half Back Perspectives Editorial Volume 1, Issue 7 October 8, 2002 When I was little, I would start packing weeks in advance when I knew we were going on vacation. One summer we were taking a family trip and my mom was out of town (she was going to meet us at the airport later), so my dad let me pack my suitcase all by myself. Without checking my bag to make sure I had all the essentials we headed off to the airport. Once we arrived at our destination mom opened my suitcase to discover that it was filled with stuffed animals, which of course, was all that was essential to me. Things have changed for me quite a bit since the days when my biggest concerns were if one of my stuffed animals was going to be upset that it didn't get to go on a trip with me. Weeks into the fall season already, it was now time for our team to have our first away game. Whether it was because I was too busy with work, practice or what little of a social life I have left, I did not start packing until the night before we left. I still had to do some laundry, and right now I am living in an apartment. At 5 a.m. on Friday morning I woke and drove to the Laundromat. Still having to work the entire day, I quickly threw some clothes from the dryer into a bag in my car and headed out. The team was scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. to load the bus. At 5:45 I arrived at the parking lot, threw a couple bags on the ground, popped my trunk and started organizing my belongings. Obviously if there was anything I had forgotten at this point it would have been a lost cause. I told a couple of team members that I still needed to pack and they thought I was joking until they saw me grabbing shirts, shoes and pants from my trunk and putting them in a suitcase. I decided that as long as I had my uniform and pads anything else I managed to pack was just a bonus. The bus was supposed to leave the parking lot at 7pm sharp. There were the usual threats of "if you're not there too bad, find your own way to the game." When the clock struck departure time, our starting center, starting quarterback and one of out fullbacks were no where to be found. Obviously we would have been pretty dumb to "prove a point" and leave without them. After being delayed in the nasty Friday evening Sacramento traffic, the remaining girls finally arrived and the bus hit the road. This particular road trip was down to Long Beach, our longest scheduled roadtrip of the season. This was also our only scheduled overnight trip of the season. The drive took over 7 hours. We were able to watch two movies, "Remember the Titans" and "Rudy," although there were several players that were a little upset that "The Waterboy" was not one of the options for in-flight entertainment. This was quickly rectified when a video of Kim Bradshaw (one of our defensive players) going for the big money on "Supermarket Sweep", was put in the VCR. Once the laughter died down, the lights went out and those lucky enough to get comfortable fell asleep. We arrived at the hotel after 2 in the morning physically exhausted and mentally tired. Our game was scheduled for 11 a.m., meaning we had to be up at 6:30, breakfast at 7:30 and to the field at 8:30. This team never ceases to amaze me. After only 3 hours sleep, every player was up and ready with plenty of time to spare, smiling, joking and talking about the game ahead. No one complained about lack of sleep or the bumpy, uncomfortable ride (although I'm sure we were all thinking about it). Through the long trip and short amount of sleep we were still ready to take the field and prove once again what a strong exciting team we are. To be a champion you need to learn to overcome obstacles. Life is always going to throw adversity into the mix to test the limits. Our team has learned to persevere thus far. We continue to get stronger and more confident with each and every game whether it is on our home field or away.     Back