One Last Night

Our final afternoon and evening in Ireland was wide open for the team to use as we saw fit.  Some of us did more shopping; others opted for some legal gambling at the local casino; the rest went out for our final opportunity of traditional Irish cuisine (we were split between Subway, who definitely does not have a five euro foot-long deal, and Super Mac’s, an Irish McDonald’s). 

The team reconvened later at night to take the big city’s nightlife by storm one last time.  Dublin was a far cry from the previous cities on our tour.  Whereas Belfast, Ballina and Londonderry had distinct Irish influence in their city life, Dublin exhibited a much greater sense of cosmopolitanism.  Tourists from each corner of the earth crammed the cobble-stoned streets and American music inundated the nightclubs.  No one in our party was mad about the latter.  It was a welcome change from the techno trance that destroyed each of eardrums in Belfast.  I have never been so happy to hear Miley Cyrus and Rihanna (bom bom bee dom bom bom bee dom dom!). 

Our last night in the big city produced some classic moments that will surely not be forgotten anytime soon.  One problem with a great nightlife, however, is its inability to couple itself nicely with an adequate amount of sleep.  The early morning wakeup calls by the nice hotel workers were met by groggy American accents, wildly unenthused about the prospect of a seven and a half hour flight and a two-hour bus ride home.  Somehow, we all managed to rally.

The team arrived back to Haverford College at 5pm local time (Doug Edelman makes his final calculation of the blog to let us know that involved 12 full traveling hours).  Accompanied by dirty clothes, overpriced souvenirs and a lack of patience that only transatlantic flights and long lines in the airport can produce, the team and its travel companions finally made it back to the point where the whole trip had started, the GIAC.

We all descended the tour bus’ three steps for the last time as a group, grabbed our bags and said our goodbyes, acting as if we would never see each other again.  In a certain sense though, the end of the trip was oddly emotional.  But guys don’t cry, so there was none of that.  But we had all spent so much time around one another that it didn’t feel right to go back to our respective lives on campus.  Not having to sit on a bus for hours on end, traverse dangerous terrains in ill-equipped clothing and ask for bread basket refills at every restaurant with those 22 other individuals was going to be strange.  

The memories, however, will truly never leave us.

Please don’t hesitate to ask us anything about our experience over there, whether it be scholarly, athletically, culturally or socially.  I am confident that we made ourselves fairly familiar with each aspect of the Irish island and would love to offer some insight to anyone who would be interested.

A Statistical Review

8,000 miles traveled

4 hotels in 4 different cities

1,000 signs that read: “Fire Door: Keep Closed”

564 sheep spotted on the side of the road (95% of which had red spray-paint on their back) p.s. sheep: Ireland :: squirrels: Haverford

187 conversational responses of mine that involved me simply smiling and shaking my head due to the fact that I had no clue what was just said to me

897 pictures uploaded onto my computer

12 newly acquired dance moves (coming soon to a Founders Dance near you)

2 sweatshirts of Brent Anderson’s that the team would rather never see again (thankfully Brent packs things he doesn’t want anymore so that he can throw them out, thereby eliminating half of his luggage for the trip home and us ever having to see the things again)

98 prank calls made by our players to other teammates in an Irish accent

26 combined minutes spent searching for the light to the bathroom (little advice: it’s never in the bathroom, but outside it somewhere in a completely illogical position)

4 games

23 members in our party

17 teammates

Countless memories and…

Eternal thanks to all of those who made this possible: our tour guide/bus driver/home boy, Paul (Irish “P”), Tom Foley and his son Andrew, Curt Mauger and his wife Andrea, Coach Mucci, Dean Watter, our financial supporters, Wendy Smith and the entire athletic department, the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship and the incredibly beautiful, accommodating and vibrant island of Ireland.

The entire team has nothing but great things to say about both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  The island’s inhabitants should know that every member of our team truly hopes that peace shall persist for such a fine society.  Their ability to work through decades of difference is inspiring and we are confident that the politically and economically strong Emerald Isle will continue to prosper.  Whatever the outcome of their differences, may the current harmony continue without end.

From the depths of our hearts, cheers!

Guided Bus Tour

After a three and a half hour drive from Ballina, the team picked up a lovely, random old lady on a street corner, whom Paul thought would be a dandy addition to our preliminary tour of the Irish metropolis.  I jest.  We are much more organized than that.  Our tour guide was in fact lovely and well aged (not old), but hardly random (even though she inconspicuously slid onto the bus).  She was a witty woman, whose supplemental quips on the tour were all that kept our drowsy selves awake during the two-hour extravaganza.

While I could hardly recount the multitude of facts and stories that were told to us on the tour, there are a few things that are definitely worth mentioning.

First, Dublin is a city with history that most Americans can hardly comprehend.  Institutions, buildings and artifacts from the 17^th century are seen as archaic to an American.  Try adding about 1,700 years to that.  That’s archaic.  Dublin has had some form of settlement on the banks of the River Liffey for over 2,000 years.  One building that exemplifies such a rich history is the world famous St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  The cathedral was built in the 12^th century, 300 years before Columbus set sail for the New World.  Some of the things that we got to see inside the cathedral were truly incredible.  Military flags from over 700 years ago were still hanging from the 60-foot walls, slowly disintegrating.  There were also tombs of past deans, the table at which Jonathon Swift (who was dean of the cathedral for quite some time) was said to have written Gulliver’s Travels and stained-glass windows that were over 400 years old.  St. Patrick’s is a must for any tour of Dublin.

Additionally, I should mention the beautiful 18^th century architecture of the city (which you won’t be able to see pictures of because something is now wrong with this website).  In what is now considered to be the more posh section of Dublin, there remain blocks of 18^th century brick buildings, famous for their doors and paned windows.  Most of the gorgeous brick buildings are now home to offices on the bottom floors, thanks to the thriving Irish economy of the mid 90s that saw a huge increase in businesses within the city. (The entire team hates the thriving Irish economy because the Euro is taking us all out behind the wood shed.  We apologize in advance to our parents for a painful lack of frugality.)

Dublin also has an amazing park system, with over 70 public parks in the city’s limits (there is still one private park remaining).  The largest of these parks is Phoenix Park, which also happens to be the largest city park in all of Europe.  As I have said before, the degree of greenness that each blade of grass exudes is indescribable.  You need to be there and feel the rug-like sod to believe it.  (I say something about the grass roughly ever 12 minutes.  I think my team is going to banish me to a random section of the Himalayas the next time I mention the grass.)  When this is stretched on for acres uninterrupted in the middle of a city, it is quite a sight to see.  Phoenix Park, in addition to hosting hundreds of local sporting events and large rock concerts, also played host to Pope John Paul II, where a large cross now stands to commemorate his mass that drew a crowd of well over one million people.

There is so much more to say about Dublin, but I simply do not have the time, space or patience to do so.  The final thing to recognize is just how Dublin-centric the nation of Ireland truly is.  With just about 1/5 of its population and a huge percentage of its economy, all roads literally run to Dublin on the island. 

Last Game

In what we knew would be our most difficult game of the trip, we took to the floor against an incredibly well organized Killester.  The first division team honestly did not look like much, as their line up was not filled with e athletes of imposing stature.  Quite the contrary, their roster was full of modest-sized players of all ages.  They, however, were far from ordinary when placed together on the floor.  With some of the most efficient basketball you will ever see, the Killester squad gave Haverford its worst loss of the trip with a 72-59 win.

Killester got out to a lead almost immediately, thanks to hot shooting and crisp passing.  Their cuts were timed perfectly and they rarely took more than 5 dribbles during a possession, with ball movement that continually troubled the Fords throughout the game. 

After the initial shock, however, Haverford was able to climb back into the game thanks to some hot shooting and easy buckets off of some timely steals.  The Fords were never able to get back into striking distance, though, as Killester’s timely scores and ability to get to the line always seemed to kill any run that our squad was putting together.  The lead was cut down to single digits a few times in the second half, but nothing seemed to faze the veteran Irish squad, who were in mid-season rhythm.

While the loss is no doubt disappointing, the entire team saw the game as a great experience.  We all learned a great deal from the veteran squad, especially in how to defend a very well balanced and well-timed offense.  As the game wore on, you could definitely see our adjustments working.  There were clearly times throughout the game when we truly outplayed the more experienced Killester squad.  Ultimately, however, the professionals turned out to be too much for us to handle on this night.

While basketball was such a small portion of what we did here on the Emerald Isle, the team is in agreement that the trip has helped us in preparing for a season which we hope will be every bit as memorable as this week.  Allowing us to try out a host of different line-ups and run a few of our offensive sets should only help us in reaching our goal to become the first Haverford basketball team to win a Centennial Conference championship.  I am confident that we can become that team.

Trinity College

For our final scheduled event on our itinerary, the team took to Trinity College for a quick tour and a meet-and-greet with a few college students.  The school’s grounds are truly incredible, with cobble-stoned paths, the distinct green of the Irish trees and grass, and stoned buildings from the 16^th century.

Founded in 1592, Trinity is Ireland’s top university and also one of the finest and most selective universities in the world.  The compact campus is nestled in the center of Dublin and plays host to the nearly 15,000 graduate and undergraduate students who take courses at the college.  Only about 400 of the students, however, actually live in campus.  Most will live about 15 minutes from the city center, in apartments that they have acquired themselves, or remain at their homes and commute each day. 

The college is famous for the Trinity College Library, a gorgeous building which hosts some incredibly old books.  One such book, the Book of Kells, was written sometime around 800 A.D.  The Book of Kells is the library’s most famous ancient text.  Housed in the extravagant Long Hall of the Trinity College Library, the Book of Kells sits amongst tens of thousands of texts that range from over 1200 to 400 years old.

The most rewarding part of our visit to Trinity was the ability to sit down with a few current college students.  We spoke at length about a lot of issues, most notably their relationship with “The Troubles”.  As was the general consensus of those at the college, the violent past of Northern Ireland was very much removed from their lives.  Living in the Republic for all of their lives and rarely venturing to the northern section of the island, the conflict is something that is fairly disconnected from their childhoods.  It was very interesting to see that something that so clearly pervades every aspect of life in the North could so easily be dismissed as an almost trivial matter by someone in the south.

A lot of our discussion also focused simply on the differences between American and Irish college life.  Most glaring difference goes to…PRICE!  I don’t speak “sympathetic Irishman”, but when we told him that we pay almost $50,000 a year to go to school, he mumbled some gibberish under a giggle and a swig from his tea that made me rightly believe he thought we were getting screwed.  Apparently when you pay nothing to go to college, you would think that.  Yeah that’s right, they pay nothing to go to college.  I’m going to stop there before I say some things that I don’t really mean.

All in all, we had an amazing discussion with the college students.  The highlight definitely occurred as the conversation moved towards professional American sports.  One of the students was talking about Philadelphia professional teams, when he quickly changed the subject (much to Brent Anderson’s and my delight), “I’ve heard of Pittsburgh’s football team.  They are pretty great right?” Brent and I are huge Steelers fans.  To see that Steelers nation has made the trek across the Atlantic to infect the global city of Dublin is inspiring.  We love you Troy, Big Ben and Hines.  Much to Coach Mucci’s dismay, the young lad had never heard of the Cleveland Browns.  Hang in there, Coach.  We know it’s rough.

That concludes our scheduled events for the trip.  It is going to be up to us to find something to do tonight in Dublin.  While that may be difficult to do, I’m sure the team will manage.

Look out for one or two more blogs in the next few days.

Shaking Hands, Kissing Babies and Rocking Gold Chains

After a tough loss to the Ulster Elks in Jordanstown, we got back to Londonderry very late Tuesday night.  Our last stop in the walled city would be at City Hall.  Once there, we had the amazing opportunity to sit down and speak to Lord Mayor Gerard Diver.

Armed with immaculate hair (the lone female on the trip, Andrea Mauger, agreed with me on this point so I know that it’s accurate) and a soft but confident tone, Diver was an amiable public councilman.  But I guess that’s why he got elected.

Lord Mayor and one his party members and council colleagues, Pol Callaghan, took a half hour out of their day to answer some of our questions, give us an inside look into some of the political aspects of “The Troubles” and enlighten us on some current issues.

Overall, the team and its trip companions were great ambassadors for Haverford.  Well, intellectually at least.  Aesthetically, the team was dressed more for Sunday brunch at the DC than for a meeting with a high-ranking politician.  Apparently, Dean Watter, Coach Mucci and Tom Foley were the only ones that read the itinerary for the day, seeing that they were the only stately dressed members of our party. 

To add insult to injury, not only was Lord Mayor Diver dressed in what was surely a $1,000 suit, he also had one of the thickest gold chains any of us have ever seen outside of a Big Tymers music video dangling around his neck.  The necklace was made in 1906 and has been worn by each Lord Mayor since then. 

We felt bad but the mayor didn’t seem insulted.  Quite the contrary, he seemed quite honored to have a group of Americans with which to speak.  As he said, the United States has always played an important role in the peace process of Northern Ireland and he is incredibly thankful for the support that our nation has continually shown to his.

Game #3

Following our meeting with the Lord Mayor, the team made its trek to Ballina, its first stop in the Republic of Ireland.  The small city on the banks of a picturesque river has been a hotbed of basketball talent in Ireland for quite some time. 

With our three 5-man line-ups shuffled up for the third straight game, we came out in completely different form.  The shots that would not fall in Jordanstown were all dropping in Ballina.  After a 51 point first half, we would ride out our 8-point halftime lead to a much needed rebound victory, 81-73.

It is hard to single out any one player for this game, as virtually every one of us found ourselves making key plays and in the scoring column.  Various team members caught fire at different points of the game.  Our offense got us tons of open looks.  Minimizing our turnovers and limiting our dribbles got us lay-ups, open 3’s and everything in between.

While the team agrees that our defense could have no doubt been better, the Ballina team was a clever offensive team.  Running much of their offense through a high post entry pass, their unusual style of making backdoor cuts gave us fits at certain points during the game. 

Ultimately, however, ball pressure and fresh legs would once again prevail in this contest.  Tomorrow night, we will take on our toughest challenger of the trip, Killester of Dublin.

Post-game Festivities

Following the game against Ballina, the home team treated us Yanks to a lovely spread at a local pub.  The event had two objectives: (1) to welcome us to Ballina and (2) to officially mark a new era of the Ballina Basketball Club.  While I like to believe the former was the primary objective, I think the team and I realized that we were second fiddle for this affair.

As if one mayor was not good enough for the team, we were once again treated to a mayor of an Irish city at the party. Michelle Mulherin,was a tall, pretty and down-to-earth woman.  As is the custom, she too had a gorgeous platinum chain draped around her neck.  She was there to show her support for the Ballina basketball team and to thank the new sponsor for putting money into a worthy cause in a time of economic difficulties.

A few members of the team spoke to the Lord Mayor at length.  Michelle Mulherin is quite witty.  No one, however, had the in depth conversation that Joel Michel did.  We are hoping that Joel sticks around for the entire season, since it would surprise no one if we found out he returned to the Irish city to pursue his dream girl.  Go get her Joel!

Chaz Thomas and I had the honor of getting a picture with the Lord Mayor for the local newspaper.  The mayor inquisitively looked from side to side as Chaz and I straddled her on either side for the photo.  She then exclaimed, “I always imagined American basketball players would be much taller.  If I would have known you weren’t that tall, I would have worn my heels to make you guys look really bad.” I couldn’t tell if she was kidding so I laughed anyway.  No worries.  I could still take her in the post and Chaz could still dunk on her.

Giant’s Causeway

Ireland, as I have said somewhere between twelve and 3,000 times already, is known for its unbelievable natural beauty.  The green grass, rolling hills and stone cliffs produce unbelievable photo opportunities.  Many Americans, however, only get to experience the Republic of Ireland’s splendor, never venturing into what they perceive to be a dangerous Northern Ireland.  That is a real shame, because that means they will never get the chance to see Giant’s Causeway.

We visited the Causeway after our trip to the infamous rope bridge.  Completed all in one day, the treks up and down the Irish landscape were quite tiring.  No worries, however.  The team was fully prepared for our excursions.  Armed with flip-flops, surgically repaired joints and bum ankles, we all left wanting more climbing and exploring (read with sarcasm).

Formed from millions of years of hardening volcanic lava, the Causeway is an incredible display of Mother Nature’s ability to produce stunning scenery.  The pictures I show here do it no justice.  If I were to ramble on about how gorgeous it was any longer, you would stop reading.  So there, I’m done.

Whiskey Anyone?

After our stops at the Rope Bridge and Giant’s Causeway, we finished our extra busy Monday with a tour of the Bushmill Distillery.  The 400-year-old distillery produces the famous Bushmill Whiskey.  While Irish whiskey is most commonly associated with Jameson in the states, Bushmill is just as recognizable on the island.  Bushmill is the oldest distillery in Ireland and the tour of the distillery’s grounds was a neat inside look into the process of producing a drink that has simultaneously inspired generations of Irish poets and made me gag.

Admittedly, I am not a whiskey person.  I admire those who sip the drink and somehow hold back the grimace that so naturally infects my face with the simple mention of the word.  The team seems to sympathize with my views, as many of our complimentary glasses of whiskey that followed the tour were left untouched. 

The distillery tour brought an end to our busy day and the team began its journey to our hotel in the city of Londonderry after a quick team dinner.

Londonderry

Arriving at the City Hotel of Londonderry late in the night, most of the team used Monday to catch up with sleep.  For the first time on the trip, Tuesday morning and afternoon would be completely free for the team to use as they saw fit.

Tuesday in the city was a great way for the guys to get away from the previously ultra structured trip itinerary.  Able to roam the streets, the team split up for lunch, allowing small groups of players to go on their own through the historic Irish city.  Known for being the only walled city left in Ireland, Derry is a city that plays host to a multitude of street-side shops and stoned-city squares.  Guys on the team got to make their way around the wall’s border, eat at local cafés and restaurants and get some shopping done for family and significant others (don’t expect anything great, I saw what some of these cheapskates got you).

The town of Londonderry sits on a beautiful river that wraps around about half of the city.  It is much smaller than Belfast, yet the city life does not suffer at all from its size.  With a lot of local pubs and retail shops, the street was vibrant throughout the duration of our stay.

Londonderry will be our last stop in beautiful Northern Ireland.  From this point on, we will be in the Republic of Ireland.

Game #2

For our second matchup of the tour, we faced off against a very physical and talented Ulster Elks squad at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown.  For the second straight game, our team was treated to a fine Irish crowd.  This contest, however, produced a much more partisan crowd as we lacked the support of the clinic’s attendees at this particular game.

In the end, the Ulster squad was able to hold off the Fords for a 74-62 win.  Neither team shot particularly well from the floor, especially from beyond the arc.  The Elks were able to get to the line much more than the Fords as the two Americans on the squad played extremely physical around the hoop.

In the previous contest, the Fords were able to get a lot of easy baskets in transition that greatly aided them in dealing with the unfamiliar 24-second shot clock.  Many of the turnovers on this night, however, did not lead to easy baskets.  The Elks were able to get back on defense and use their height advantage to slow down the Fords’ fast breaks. 

Coupling the reduction of our fast break points with inconsistent shooting and untimely turnovers proved to be too much for us to overcome.  Various Fords caught fire for brief parts during the game.  Matt Stitt started off hot, followed with streaks by Alex Schwada, Ian Goldberg and Bo Friddell.  But these bursts of points would prove to be short-lived, as we struggled to find consistent scoring throughout the game.

Ultimately, the Elks were a better team on this night.  We learned a lot from our encounter with a team that was very physical and well organized.  Hopefully, we can return to our winning ways tonight against Ballina.

One More Time

For our final night in Belfast, the team took to the city center one last time.  The team split up for our own dinner exploits.  That involved half of the team going to Burger King.  Those who went claimed that the Irish do BK much better than the Yankees.  We have a very cultured palate here on the basketball team.

We reunited to take the European dance scene by storm.  At a local techno club (where we ran into some players that we had competed against earlier in the night), we kicked off the party thanks to some amazing dance floor innovations.  Among the many moves that were created that night, “The Accordian”, “The Nordic Track” and “The Bird Call” were among the greats.

Most of us adhered to the dancing style which involved people gathering in a circle, clapping to the beat and waiting for one brave soul to journey to the center, showing off a move that he just thought of.  This produced the aforementioned dance moves and some other classics.  One individual on our team, however, who I won’t name (Bo), preferred to venture off on his own.  His dancing style consisted of him closing his eyes, rhythmically waving his arms above his head and slowly rolling his body from side to side.  It was quite impressive.  I would surely be willing to swap some moves with him sometime soon.  Whatever the dance, the locals were intrigued/repulsed/amused by all of our antics.

Belfast will miss us.  I’m sure of it.

“Corrymeela Begins When You Leave”

After checking out of our hotel and completing a one-hour ride to the northeast of Belfast, we arrived at a small community known as Corrymeela.  Visiting the community gave us our first chance to see some of the cliffs and landscape that Ireland has become known for. 

Situated on a cliff that overlooks the Irish Sea, Corrymeela was founded in 1965 to provide a safe space for the meaningful dialogue concerning peace and reconciliation.  The community was founded by Christians, but welcomes people of all ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultures to the grounds to engage in activities and discussions that have been instrumental in helping Northern Irish individuals, families and communities deal with the horrors that have plagued the country for the past decades.

The founder of the Corrymeela community, Ray Davey, has always stressed that the activities and discussions that occur at Corrymeela are only the beginning of the healing process.  The community’s motto, then, is that “Corrymeela Begins When You Leave”.  Nothing illustrates such a concept better than the following story, told to us by our tour guide as we stood looking out over the Irish Sea.

Corrymeela has programs that host a variety of groups and individuals that would otherwise not share a common space.  One such program involved police and young men (aged from about 18-22).  The program involved a lot of personal interaction between the two groups, with the football (soccer) matches between and among the two always being the most emotional.  Gradually, however, a real sense of camaraderie developed between the two groups.  After a few days of activities, everyone could sense that headway had been made and the two groups all went back to their respective towns.

Fast-forward to a few months later in a city center (the exact city escapes me).  A local crowd of young activists had assembled in the main square of the city ready to riot at the drop of a hat.  The police had mobilized accordingly and were fitted with their riot-proof gear: bulletproof vest, plastic shields, guns, helmet and all. 

It just so happens that one of the policemen there that day had been to Corrymeela a few months before.  As he scanned the crowd of angry youths, he noticed a familiar face.  The policeman, then, made a daring move.  Breaking the line, the policeman stepped forward, dropped his shield and lifted his helmet to reveal his face. 

Slowly walking towards the crowd, he shuffled through the first few potential rioters, who were befuddled by the policeman’s actions.  Working his way to the second or third row of activists, he tapped the young man he was seeking on the shoulder, “Hey there!  Do you remember me?” inquired the policeman. 

“Not that I remember.  Should I?” replied the puzzled activist.

“Yes, you do.  I was at Corrymeela with you just a few months back.”

“Oh, yes.  Of course.”

The policeman then took a leap of faith as he suggested the seemingly impossible.  “What are we doing here?  Tell your friends to go home and I’ll do the same.”

“You’re right,” replied the activist.

Within the minutes, both previously antagonized groups had disbanded and a riot was avoided.  The story lives on in the Corrymeela community as the best example of what they are able to offer to the world.

The dialogue I presented here is merely a summary of the story told to the team today at Corrymeela.  While my version of the tale is far less moving and personally significant, I would hope that it sheds some light on the goals and effectiveness of the community.

I would strongly encourage anyone interested in the conflict of the Irish island to look more closely into the Corrymeela community and their work.

The Rope Bridge

Among the most gorgeous landscape that the island has to offer, there sits a few wooden planks, five neatly arranged ropes and 80 feet of air in between the assembled materials and the water below.  Put these all together and you have one terrifying/picturesque rope bridge. 

I’m not going to say I was hero, because I may or may not have been holding back bowel movements during my trek across, but a few individuals in our party were beyond horrified.

Coach Mike Mucci and junior Mike Gabriel were by far the most entertaining.  Matt Palmer also supplied us with a memorable moment, but his choice language in the heat of the moment would not be suitable for such a classy blog.

Both Coach and Gabe started the initial crossing, only to turn around after just a few steps across.  After Gabe caved into peer pressure, however, he made the trek across the 60-foot bridge in just under 14 minutes.  Math major Doug Edelman again came in handy for this calculation, claiming that Gabe was moving at an astonishing rate of 1 foot for every 14 seconds.  Calm down there Usain.  Coach was not as easy to coax across.  The team had to resort to our patented “Mooch” chant in order for him to take the bridge by storm.  And oh did he ever!  With his tinted glasses and athletic stance, Coach Mucci stole the show with his crossing.  The other tourists and locals made sure to laugh at our expense.

Along with our second game, the rest of today’s activities will be posted sometime tomorrow.  

Cheers!

Clinic

After our first night out on the town, the team met for a 9 am breakfast (some of us are still struggling with the food) before our clinic at the LeisurePlex, a recreational center just outside of Belfast.  The nightlife was quite kind to us.  Well, sort of.  But those are stories for another day.

The clinic for the feisty Irish lads was a blast.  The team put the nearly 60 youngsters (some of them weren’t that young actually, ranging from age 8-16) through a series of drills focusing on ball handling, passing, shooting, rebounding and defense.  They seemed to love our drills and accents. 

The culmination of the clinic involved splitting our groups up and playing a good ole “match” (not game).  Of course, the team led by Ian Goldberg, Joel Michel, Adrian Sills-Takyi and myself blew the other team out of the water.  Our crafty passing, wicked step back jumpers and ferocious defense were too much for the poor lads matched up against us.

After the scrimmage, we had a chance to shoot around and act like kids (idiots) with some of the clinic’s attendees.  Dave Nowacki had the pleasure of losing to one of his kids in knock-out while I also was publicly humiliated, attempting to play defense on a 9 year old when the wee one slid the ball between my legs.  I quickly regained my pride, however, when he attempted his lay-up and I decided to throw the ball against the far wall.  It’s quite sad I know.

Tour #2 Through Belfast

For the second straight day, the team was treated to a guided bus tour from some people who had personal experience with “The Troubles”.  Today, we were also accompanied by PJ and Francis (Fra).  PJ and Fra are both former professional basketball players whom Tom Foley became very close with during his stay in Northern Ireland.  Their insight and personal experience were invaluable.

The murals were once again a focal point of the tour.  They are too prevalent and passionate not to be.  There has been much debate over the course of the past five years as to whether the murals should be removed in order to help with the peace process.  Many of the communities that have created them, however, feel that peace can be sustained even with their presence and that removing the murals will not erase the unfortunate past.  Recently, some murals have begun to pop up that are removed from the historic conflict.  For example, the mural that criticizes the American-British alliance was not too popular with some of the Bush supporters on the team (they aren’t a dead breed just yet).  Some businesses have even begun to advertise in mural form.

On this tour of the city, the team visited the historically significant Bombay Street.  In the early days of the conflict, nearly every house on Bombay Street was burnt to the ground.  Widely recognized as the origin of the conflict, Bombay Street sits directly on the Catholic side of “The Berlin Wall of Belfast”.  The 30-foot high fence remains to this day, much to the dismay of a great deal of the city, and was used during the conflict to separate the two communities.

This tour simply helped to cement the severity of the conflict that we had been introduced to just yesterday.  Both PJ and Fra supplemented much of the history with personal anecdotes, which involved stories of murdered friends and classmates.  The team truly appreciated their company and assistance. 

Our First Game

For our first competitive game of the year, we were met by a well-balanced Star of the Sea team.  Fresh legs and unparalleled coaching (I’m trying to get a little more playing time as you can see) eventually prevailed after four ten-minute quarters. 

The final score ended up 77-70 in favor of the Fords.  With three different line-ups, each playing in 5-minute shifts, Haverford was able to build a few big leads through the final three quarters by forcing turnovers and scoring easy baskets on the break. 

But Star of the Sea would not go away.  Thanks to a front line that was active and quite clever around the hoop, the Northern Irish squad reduced several Haverford leads in a matter of minutes.  Led by #21, Kevin Foley, the home team created a lot of problems for Haverford at certain stretches in the contest.  Ultimately, however, the young and fresh legs of the Fords were a little too much. 

Several Fords newcomers had strong showings.  LT Edwards’ relentless activity, Joel Michel’s slashing style, Ian Goldberg’s pressure defense and Bo Friddel’s physical play all supplemented the experienced Haverford upperclassmen nicely. 

A great local crowd showed up to vocally support both squads.  Many in the crowd were the youngsters that had attended our clinic earlier in the day.  In the tight quarters of the local gym, the cheers seemed to reverberate off the walls for minutes at a time.

Some of the FIBA rules are less than popular with the team (wide lane, 24 second shot clock, different ball), but we are trying to adjust as best we can.  As has been widely publicized throughout the years, the international referees received their fair share of criticism from both of the teams. 

Looking to continue our winning ways, the next game will find us matched up against a strong Jordanstown squad on Tuesday night.

Some things us Yankees are struggling with…

-Looking right before crossing the street

-37 degree showers being incredibly hot

-1.20 for gas not being cheap (1.20 is pounds, not dollars, and they measure by liter, not gallon.  I’m not a math major, but Doug Edelman is.  He promises that isn’t cheap.)

-roundabouts (traffic circles)

-techno trance clubs playing music at decibel levels that are neither fun nor safe (Just to give you an idea of what we were dealing with here: It is currently 10 am the morning after the team went out to a club and several members of the teams’ ears, including mine, are still ringing furiously.  We were met by a host of stares at the continental breakfast this morning as we sat practically screaming across the table to one another.  Great fun.)

-a lack of complimentary water at dinners (Guiness is cheaper than water.)

-a lack of WaWa in our convenience-store laden lives

-a lack of Cory Walts in our early morning schedules (We all miss you dearly big man.  We’re doing our best to bring dynamic stretching to Europe.  So far it’s been rough, but we think our limber bodies will convince them in due time.)

It is generally accepted, however, that we all love Ireland very much and are in no rush to leave.  Sorry to me mum and dad.

Departure

Just prior to 3 pm, twenty-three bodies filtered into the mini tour bus outside of the Gardner Integrated Athletic Center in order to make our 9:20 pm flight (That’s right, we had a window of just over six hours.  Coach Mucci takes no chances). 

Our close quarters and traffic-laden ride to the airport ignited the usual discussions and arguments amongst the team: the most deserving NBA MVP candidate from last season (clearly should have been Kevin Garnett) and Brent Anderson’s disgust with what he sees as a trivial conservative presence on campus.

Game 2 of the National League Championship Series helped to fill our abundance of free time.  The Philly faithful of Dave Nowacki, Matt Stitt, Ben McDowell and Joel Michel made sure to continually harass the lone West Coast representative and Dodger fan, Alex Schwada.

Admittedly, 9:20pm arrived quicker than expected and without any major hiccups, we boarded Continental Airlines transatlantic flight #94 twenty-three deep.  So far so good!

Arrival

After six hours of real time and 12 hours off our clock, we finally stepped foot onto the Emerald Isle.  Much of our party is considerably jetlagged (As I write, my roommate Joel is fully clothed in bed and snoring without regard to my future hearing capabilities).  I, however, have escaped the bug thanks to midterm week’s ability to virtually erase sleep from my schedule and a terribly boring choice on my part for an in-flight movie, “Swing Vote”.  (Do yourself a favor and skip out on that one.)  The combination of the two produced a solid six-hour plane-nap for me.  But I digress.

Situated some 20 kilometers outside the city limits, the Belfast airport sits among some of the greenest countryside the earth has to offer.  The slow and steady yearlong rainfall that the island receives produces an incredibly lush landscape.

Our ride is accompanied by the newest member of our party, Paul, who will serve as our driver and tour guide for the duration of our stay in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.  Paul, however, is not the only expert on the trip.  Tom Foley and his son Andrew have also accompanied us for the experience.  Tom is the CEO of the Red Cross in Philadelphia and a former professional basketball player in Northern Ireland.  Between Tom and Paul, there isn’t much that cannot be explained in regards to “The Troubles”, the name given to the conflict that has plagued the island for much of the past half-century.

Before we had the opportunity to check in to our hotel, Paul and Tom bombarded the team with an anecdotal history of Belfast.  As the tour bus meandered through the city, the dynamic tour duo of Paul and Tom (the team is currently thinking of a catchy name for this pair) pointed out historically significant sites.  While my recounting of their stories will surely do them no justice, here are some highlights of our preliminary tour of Belfast:

Our first stop was City Hall, built in 1902.  Composed of a weathered stone and including incredibly detailed stone sculptures, the building was situated in the busier section of the city, as a few tourists joined the team in stopping for a few snapshots.  “The Belfast Wheel” (basically a well-kept Ferris wheel) hugged the left wing of City Hall, giving tourists a view of the entire city.  The team is planning a late-night visit to the wheel. 

Another spot that produced some incredible photos was the Stormont Estate, the current seat of the Northern Island government.  Virtually empty thanks to renovations and weekend restrictions, the team had the grounds almost to itself.  A long, arrow-straight avenue leads to the majestic building, which sits atop a steady incline.  The avenue starts at the bottom of the hill and makes it way up to the front steps of the Stormont, creating an incredible view from the building’s entrance.

In addition to these two picturesque stops, the city tour mainly involved driving around to get a feel for the incredibly unsettling history of “The Troubles”.  As previously mentioned, “The Troubles” refers to the time period when Northern Ireland had been a battleground between the Nationalists, who desired a unified Irish island (usually Catholic), and the Unionists, who wished to express their loyalty to the British (usually Protestant).  For some time now, there has been peace in Northern Ireland.  The past, however, is still very much alive in the city of Belfast.  For example:

-Some buildings still lay in ruins within low-income districts of the city.

-The Europa Hotel, famous for holding the world record as the most bombed hotel in the history of the world (34 times), remains in service to this day.

-A gate separating the Catholic (Nationalists) and Protestant (Unionists) sections of the city known as the “Peace Gate” remains intact.  The gate was closed to separate the two sections during times of uprising.

-And most poignant of all, murals infest the city’s residential and commercial buildings.  On virtually every street corner, a mural remains from “The Troubles”.  The incredibly detailed murals convey chilling messages to its audience.  Some display rallying cries by the paramilitary groups that had been responsible for a majority of the violence while others honor the fallen victims of the turbulent times. (Some 3,000 have died in the past 30 years.  Compared to the population of the island, this is a staggering figure.  If the United States were to experience a proportionally similar murder rate, it would cost the lives of over 300,000 victims.)

Tonight will end with a team dinner and a night out on the town.  With our first game tomorrow night, we are going to try and experience Northern Ireland’s nightlife without hindering our play.  We will see how that goes!

Haverford will arrive in Belfast on Saturday morning. They will go an a sightseeing tour of the City Hall in Donegal Square, a huge Renaissance palazzo with four corner towers and a massive dome; St. Anne’s Cathedral; the Albert Memorial Clock Tower, popularly known as the Big Ben of Belfast; Belfast Castle and much more.

The Fords will participate in a basketball clinic at Lisburn on Sunday and then take on St. Malachy’s College in the evening.

Although there will be no games played on Monday it is likely to be the busiest day of the trip as the team will leave Belfast and visit Corrymeela and Giant’s Causeway before arriving in Londonberry.

Tuesday will be lighter on the travel when HC will visit the Old Busmill’s Distillery, Ireland’s oldest licensed whiskey distillery, before taking on the Jordanstown Basketball Team that night.

Wednesday will include a walking tour of Londonberry and then a meeting with the Lord Mayor of Derry, Gerard Diver. Later in the day, Haverford will participate in a basketball clinic and meet the Ballina Basketball Team for a game.

Haverford will do more traveling on Thursday, heading to the “Fair City” of Dublin for a sightseeing tour of Old Parliament; St. Patrick’s Cathedral; the General Post Office, referred to as the G.P.O., headquarters of “The Rising” in 1916. The Fords will play their fourth and final contest against the Killester Team on Thursday evening.

Friday will be the final full day of the trip before heading home on Saturday. The day will include a visit to Trinity College. The College’s principal attraction is the library with its priceless collection of old books and manuscripts, including the Eighth Century Book of Kells. HC will be staying in the Temple Bar an area whose narrow streets have become a hive of activity. It has art galleries, recording studios, craft shops, and a variety of restaurants.