Work Hard - Play Hard!

How many times have we each said that? How many times have we used this phrase to explain that while we are committed to our jobs, we are also committed to enjoying life?

What would we do if our work were play? I am one of the lucky ones; I get to do what I love. Hardly a week goes by when someone doesn’t say to me ‘Paul, you have my dream job!’ While I am flattered, I know that all that is visible to outsider, is when I am shooting and lucky enough to have one of the best seats in the house. They miss all of the planning, the traveling, the editing and uploading. What can I say? I love it!

Watching today’s practice, Work Hard – Play Hard took on a new meaning for me. The seriousness of the upcoming game was distant from the joy the girls were showing on the practice field. They clearly love what they are doing, the love the game and each other as well. The camaraderie is evident, the sense of family is clear - these are amazing individuals, part of an amazing team.

Indeed they work hard to play hard. Enjoy their smiles from today’s practice; England will see different faces at the Olympic Stadium tomorrow night.

Field Conditions

As I am preparing to travel to Tianjin, I am spending a bit of time at the Media Center at the Stadium. I had heard there were working on the pitch so I walked up to see it. Not only are they working on it, they have completely removed the playing surface, stripped it down to the sand undersurface and are completely re-sodding the entire surface. The next games in Shanghai are the 3rd place and final games on September 30th.



Next stop Tianjin, next game Saturday vs. England!

Rest, Recovery and Rain

In the morning we all thought we were in the veritable calm before the storm. As Steve Wade from AP put it last night, “I think I know tomorrow’s story, and it’s us.” Fortunately Steve, as well as the rest of us was wrong and the Typhoon Wipha turned inland and settled down.

Coach Greg Ryan, Lori Chalupny and Heather O’Reilly were available for the media in the afternoon session, while some of the other girls spent time with their families prior to an afternoon recovery workout in the pool. Although there have been many negative comments about the field, both Lori and Heather had great praise for the conditions of the pitch.

Shannon Boxx was trying to teach her mother Julie, the art of Cribbage. From the conversation, it sounded like Shannon had indeed become an expert during her many thousands of miles of travel with the team.



Angela Hucles’ mother Janice arrived and the cards gave way to conversation. The rain and the existing treat of the storm prevented any additional outings.



Angela and Lindsay Tarpley took a moment to check out 'Take a Picture of Me Smiling' on my iPod



I spent the balance of the afternoon umbrella in hand touring my ‘neighborhood,’ a much more traditional Shanghai setting.

The Group of Death

When I saw Carli Lloyd on Monday afternoon, she asked if I was going to shoot in the rain, in turn I asked her if she was going to play in the rain. “I like to play in the rain,” she responded. All I can say is that Carli must have had the time of her life in the final Group B game against Nigeria on Tuesday night. As Typhoon Wipha was beginning to move ashore, FIFA had already rescheduled Wednesday’s games and travel plans were already changed to avoid the risk.

It had been raining all afternoon, with just a few breaks. I waited for one of those breaks to go over to the stadium media center, a block from my hotel. The break didn’t last long enough for me to make it the entire block.

The team warmed up in the rain. The National Anthems were played in the rain and although the teams were under plexi shelters, they were still in the rain. On yes, the photographers were certainly in the rain. Keeping anything dry was impossible!

The US girls, who had been accused of slow starts in the first two games, were on the board with a Lori Chalupny goal near the end of the first minute.



From there field conditions continued to deteriorate, at one point Abby stopped to replace a section of turf that she had kicked up, reminiscent of a very bad golfer.

What the Nigerians lacked in style they more that made up for in the physical hard-hitting nature of their game. Hard Hitting! I just thought I should mention it at least one more time. It’s no wonder that at the media session on Monday, Kate Markgraf had referred to Group B, as the Group of Death, with the number 1, 3 and 5 ranked teams in the group, and that doesn’t include Nigeria.

The game was a rough as any game that might be played as a grudge match to settle a score on the pitch in any country.



The US has several great chances, Kristine was just a bit high twice, there was a power shot that somehow the Nigerian goal was able to get a hand on and Abby more that a few opportunities that skidded off in the rain.



The final minutes of the game were particularly rough, with Abby being knocked down hard twice within a minute.



Given the conditions, it certainly wasn’t the most elegant game of soccer, but starting in the first minute, the Team got the job done.

There as a group of young American fans to cheer on the team as they boarded the bus back to the hotel.



Thursday morning we travel to Tianjin to prepare for Saturday night’s game against England, which will be played in the brand new Olympic stadium.

Taking the World Cup by Storm

It’s been raining all day here in Shanghai, with Typhoon Wipha scheduled to hit about midnight Shanghai time.

The field conditions are already suffering from four games that followed several days of rain prior to the beginning of the Tournament.

The following photos are my view of the Hong Kou Stadium from my hotel room, taken yesterday and today.

Hong Kou Stadium, Shanghai

It’s quiet tonight, but even with forecast of rain a sell-out is expected for the game tomorrow.

Practice, Press and Pearls

This morning’s practice was at the Shenhau Football Club training complex. This local pro team, trains here and lives at the complex, which is about 30 minutes south of the Hong Kou Stadium where they play and where tomorrow night’s game, as well as the finals will be played.

The ever present Chengdu SWAT team is gone, but the local police seem to have things well under control and only after a bit of arguing by our taxi driver, were we able to get onto the grounds for our 15 minute brush with the players and then back to the hotel.

Early afternoon was the next media session with Tina Ellertson, Kristine Lilly and Kate Markgraf.

Tomorrow’s game against Nigeria is a very personal event for Tina, whose mother is from Nigeria and father from Ghana. Tina has yet to see any action in the first two games and is ready and eager to play.


Both of Tina’s parents, as well as other family members will be at the game. Tina’s emotions were evident as she told of her grandmother who on her deathbed, said she could see Tina playing for the US Team.

The media session was followed by a Team meeting, during which I was able to hang out with one of the upcoming stars of US Soccer, Ms. Riley Rampone. With her deep dark eyes and blond curls she already knows how to work both the camera and the photographer.


Riley, by the way hopes to celebrate her 2nd birthday in Shanghai, on September 29th.

After their meeting, I was able to join some of the team and family members for pearl shopping. Chris and Christie Rampone (and of course Riley), Lori Chalupny and her mother, Carli Lloyd and her boyfriend and her parents, Nicole Barnhart and Natasha Kai, her parents and two of her younger brothers.


While the girls were power pearl shopping, Christie helped me pick out something for my daughter (this is a test to see if Elizabeth is reading my blog).


After some action photos of the shopping, I was relegated to the sidelines with the dads, Steve Lloyd and Benny Kai.


“Cousin” Benny is the lead performer at the Polynesian Cultural Center on the north side of Oahu. To say the least, Benny has a big personality and was posing for me nearly as much as Riley. Check out the amazing Cousin Benny and his Ukulele on YouTube!


Next stop was Haagen Daz for a taste of home. Cookies and Cream tasted amazing. The Chinese versions of Haagen Daz and Starbucks while offering a taste of home, they also have the same prices as home.

T-shirt shopping and a few more photos, mostly of Riley and Benny, made the afternoon complete and fabulous.


The next time I see the girls, they will be all business facing Nigeria for the final game of group play. Concurrently, North Korea will be playing Sweden. I am definitely pulling for Sweden!