Unofficial Opening

I unofficially kicked off Festival weekend last night with my parents, Karen and a couple of friends at Pamplona with Les Freres Michot providing the entertainment. Intimidation proved victorious as a couple of professional cajun dancers prevented my nerves from taking over, but there's always next time. I guess I should sign up for those Cajun dance classes before Tucson comes around.

Looking forward to seeing you all at Festival International de Louisiane this weekend. Here's a little Les Freres Michot to kick off your Thursday morning.

"In South Louisiana"

What do you think?

Catching golfing fever as I watch the Masters all day via the web (great piece of technology). Probably going to catch nine later in the evening if anyone is interested. Anyway, Tiger shot pretty well yesterday, but the talking heads wanted to focus on the Nike commercial. Looking to get a response from the masses regarding there new ad featuring Tiger. Seems pretty controversial. What do you think about it?

...and here's a classic from Father's Day a couple of years ago (no controversy here):

New Destination

Many of you may not know this, but Karen has been working extremely hard for the past couple of years with the goal of attending graduate school in studio art. The past month has been filled with anxiety as we had to make decision between Southern Methodist University and Univ. of Arizona...not a difficult choice considering U of A is a top school in her concentration, but when SMU throws a large financial package your way you stop and consider.


I can now say with confidence that come August Karen and I will be living in Tucson, Arizona. I will be back and forth as I finish up my schooling, but we plan on being there a minimum of three years, so please wish us luck and keep us in your prayers as this is definitely an exciting time in our lives.

A Great Ending

Dallas Cup is coming to a close this morning. I had the whistle for the semi-final between Tigres and Erin Mills (Canada), and it brought an end to what's been a splendid week of soccer.

2010 US Soccer Academy for Dallas Cup + Alex Prus

I had the opportunity two nights ago of working in the stadium in front of approximately 3000 fans for the quarter-final mach between Monterrey and the Mexican National Team. It was the first time I officiated with both ankles wrapped, an experience I hope to avoid in the future as I had a small training accident on Thursday...supposedly a day off.

As the crew exited the elevator into the tunnel hairs stood up on my neck. Both teams were yelling at the top of their lungs, the sound of drums echoed off the walls, and cameras were going off in every direction. I was completely taken over by the moment thinking, "this is what it's all about." Unfortunately the game was not as great as the entrance as Monterrey walked away 3-0 without any problems. Nevertheless, it was an unbelievable experience...one I won't soon forget.

The Stadium Crew
Myself, Jorge Luna, Bobby Madden (FIFA Scotland), and Juan Guzman