Poland?

I’m starting to fear how I will every get readjusted to a normal life. You know.. the kind of life where you don’t have to pack up all of your belongings and move to a different country overnight...This has become my normal and honestly, it’s kind of terrifying imaging life without the possibility of these insane things happening. D’s agent has been working to get him loaned out to another team where he will play more. We’ve been mentally prepared to leave Vilnius behind and move within a moments notice, yet its still something you can’t be completely prepared for.

We had been negotiating with a team in Wlocklawek, Poland early last week yet it wasn’t until Friday that things became official. Deividas parents came up to Vilnius Thursday evening to help us pack in case the deal went through. They’ve been there for us every time we’ve moved and I’m honestly so grateful for them. I have the best in-laws in the world. Packing in our house goes something like this...Deividas is begging me to leave stuff behind, bribing me that I can buy new things in Poland..I agree then when he isn’t looking, I secretly put things back in my bag leaving him wondering how in fact my bag is, yet again, so overweight. Something tells me I’m not as sly as I think, and that Deividas is indeed a smart man who has realized marriage involves picking your battles and overweight luggage is not one of them. 

Friday morning we were all packed up and just waiting for the phone call telling us if a) things went through and b) what time we would be leaving. Around noon we got the call that we would be leaving at 3:30 pm.. that day. We arrived at the airport to discover Tucker (our chihuahua/reason for breathing) hadn’t been booked on our flight and that he couldn’t be because there was already another dog on board. While I’m having a mental breakdown alone in the corner, Deividas (clearly the logical one in the relationship) booked us on the later flight where only first class seats were available. Something told me this was all a secret ploy by Tucker to get more leg room. Regardless, we finally made it to Poland around midnight.

We flew into Wroclaw, one of Poland’s larger cities where D’s team was playing an away game the next day. Rather than have us fly into the city we’d be living in, they wanted D there right away for their game so I had to accompany them on the team trip. Anyone who’s significant other plays some sort of sport knows how awkward this is. The team stays in a hotel together, eats together and prepares for the game. Wives aren’t exactly welcome there, and honestly I don’t want to be anywhere near these people while they’re in “game mode”. To top things off, I knew what kind of first impression I would make on D’s teammates and the staff when I showed up to the hotel with 5 suitcases, a huge Fendi bag and a chihuahua in an American flag sweater. Luckily, they were all really welcoming to me and made sure I was comfortable the whole time. 

We arrived at the gym a couple hours early for the team to warm up. I sat in the corner while the arena staff was setting up for the game hoping no one would speak to me in Polish or ask why the hell I was there so early, sitting alone. D’s new coach told me this was a huge rivalry game and that the teams had been going head to head for years. I didn’t think much about it until I started seeing the fans piling in right before the game started. The atmosphere was unbelievable. I felt like I was back in an ACC college arena again. The announcer would scream into the microphone so forcefully, I realized I would never be able to distinguish his “HOLY SHIT THIS ARENA IS ON FIRE, EVERYONE EVACUATE!!!” voice from his “TODAY WE HAVE A SPECIAL ON POPCORN” voice. Here he is introducing the home team, it was too good not to film:

The enthusiasm is real, folks.

Sitting alone.. in a dark arena, before the game.

team huddle 

The fans got so crazy that the refs kept having to pause the game to control them. They even yelled at the announcer (who clearly should’ve been casted for the movie 300) multiple times, asking him to simmer down a little. The home team fans weren’t the only ones in the crowd...there were two huge bus loads of fans from D’s team, Anwil, who had traveled 4 hours for the away game. I can tell we have some extremely intense fans and I can only imagine what the home games will be like. (Side note: what is it about sports that make grown men think its a great idea to take their shirt off regardless of the weather or their own physique?) We ended up winning by 12 and everyone was happy. On my way out of the arena to get back on the bus, there were about 50 cops with rifles and shields ready to take down any fights that may occur. To be honest, this freaked me the hell out and after several attempts at requesting I get through their human barricade to board the bus, they finally let me through.


We all went to dinner in Wroclaw after the game and I got to talk with some of D’s new teammates. Both Americans on the team went to college in Florida, so here I am in the middle of Poland talking about friends we have in common and the best places to eat in Palm Beach. Crazy, crazy, small world, I’ll tell ya. After dinner we boarded the bus for our four hour drive to our new city, Wloclawek. So here I am, the only girl on a bus full of 15 huge basketball players, the coach and all male staff, and my five pound chihuahua, wondering how the hell life has brought me to this moment. But realizing, I wouldn’t have it any other way. This is my normal.