The men's soccer blog is back, and it's Alex Gatewood who has once again taken on blogging duties for the Pilots. Alex will check in now and then with updates on the Pilots, the season and life in general. Be sure to bookmark PortlandPilots.com/GatewoodBlog to follow Alex and the Pilots all season long!

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012
Entry #2

Hello Pilots and welcome back to the second blog of my 2012 season series.
 
Since my last update the squad has faced many trials and tribulations; highs and lows; and one hell of a welcome home to Merlo during our games against Gonzaga and San Francisco. We now find ourselves with two wins in the West Coast Conference and a thirst for more. Yet, the WCC is a harsh mistress. She holds the potential to make us feel like kings returning from a successful hunt or like losers at a cakewalk. This weekend will be the test. We face The University of San Diego Toreros and the Loyola Marymount Lions, two teams who historically have provided us with difficult and exciting games. Two more wins would give our team some comfort in the conference but we have to take the rest of the season one game at a time. We set a tone this last week and are leaving the Bluff with a sense of foundation that can only grow stronger. To quote our coaches, "we cannot allow the standard to drop." I urge everyone who attended the Gonzaga and USF games to keep following our team. The fans, both student-side and bench-side, were incredible at both games on Merlo. When the banner reading "Pilots Smash" arose behind the student section Friday night I thought I had died and gone to Merlo heaven. I even asked sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Foster to pinch me to make sure I wasn't in shock. I can prove it—the mark is still there. All nonsense aside, we were, and continue to be, very grateful. Whether current student or alum; Pilot Club member or kettle corn dude; completely clothed or barely kilted, keep it up Portland. You're killin' it.
 
Soccer players around the world have become notorious for holding various routines or superstitions that we swear affect the outcome of the game or whatever competition we are participating in. This ranges between putting one sock on before the other to what type of underwear fights off bad luck the best, among others. At first glance, one might think our team is a collective of straightforward, non-superstitious, and by the book guys, however, I've begun to notice otherwise. Rather than observe the pregame routines of our entire team I have narrowed my investigation into the paranormal towards only one of my fellow Pilots... senior Keith Grubisich. It may seem like I rag on Keith a lot to the readers of my blog, but you must understand it all comes from the heart and that this kid is a gold mine. Some of you may remember Keith from such moments as "oh hey, I scored a lot of goals my junior year" to more recent appearances in comedies like "Ice Cream Face", but nothing has marveled the wonder of what has become Keith's pregame hair ritual. First he steps to the mirror, fresh out of the shower, and opens the vat-like container of super wet hair gel worthy of a bio-chem lab. Next he scoops up a Gatewood-Thanksgiving-Day-mashed-potato proportion of goo into his hands and proceeds to massage the liquid cement into his carefully crafted cabeza. Though many of us on the team have adopted comb-overs, bald heads, or lengthy locks as our hairstyle of choice, Keith stays strong to his inner renegade and rocks the mohawk. Though this entire process may only take only a few seconds, when Keith is doing his magic in front of the mirror it is as if time stops completely. Once the gel has solidified we are left with a masterpiece worthy of artistic praise. The razor edge of the top of Keith's head has been known to slice a man in half and, as a result, no one questions its authority. It saddens me to know that Keith will be leaving us at the conclusion of this season, but I can only hope someone on the squad can continue the legacy of the hair ritual. May it bring luck to us all.
 
Speaking of legacies, there is one more that must be mentioned... Many greats have come through the ranks of the University of Portland men's soccer program and I have been privileged to play on the same team as one currently in the making, Ryan Kawulok. Current Portland Timber Ryan Kawulok was known for his physical and aggressive defending while on the Bluff and his reputation has carried on through his legacy in the program. Ryan was a strong supporter of what we call 'contact', or systematic collisions into one another to simulate physical game environments. In other words, during our warm-up if someone yells contact get ready to feel some bumps. Contact has evolved into a practice that I believe will stay in the team for years to come, but a more recent legacy has emerged known as the 'jorts'. It all began with senior Joey Sleven during a practice where we were unable to wear our normal practice gear because we had already packed our kits for a quick turnaround travel day. Because our gear was packed we were allowed to wear a jersey from home and Joey used this as an opportunity for greatness. Joey went home the night before and took an old pair of jeans with which he proceeded to cut into a stylish pair of jorts. The next day at practice went down in legend as Joe stared each member of our coaching staff straight in the face while asserting his manliness via the jorts. The jorts have now become a sign of status on our team. They are awarded once a week to whoever can boast the manliest story or reputation from the week prior and remain in that person's custody for the remaining week. The jorts have indescribable properties such as the ability to fit any man no matter their size or shape and have been known to cause a feeling of euphoria in their wearer. In case you were curious, here is a quick snapshot of the jorts. If they don't seem that impressive it's because their radiance can only be admired in person.