A chat with Mark Pearson
March 3, 2010
By Cecelia Carter Smith
Mark Pearson and I have hooked up. His feet are firmly planted on the ground in Delhi India and mine in Burlington Ontario.
Mark considers himself among “the lucky players” who is suiting up at the 2010 Hero Honda FIH World Cup. “The send-off (in Vancouver) was a lovely evening with friends and family at a nice downtown hotel. It was especially nice with all the Olympic festivities going on.”
And the UBC alum was most appreciative of Coach Alan’s (Brahmst) “formal team announcement and small token gift” given to the members of the World Cup team.
“Our participation in the Olympics and the 2010 World Cup are major achievements for our team,” said the affable 22 year old. “And our Leadership Crew of Rob (Short) and Kenny (Pereira) have been waiting a long 12 years to get back to World Cup.
“I look up to both Rob and Ken (14 and 15 years Mark’s senior) for advice both on and off the field.”
Shortly after the team’s opening 3-2 loss to the Kiwis – “a tough pill to swallow – a game that we had keyed in on as one to get a result from” – Mark described ‘the fabulous facility in Delhi.’ “The Indian authorities have done a fantastic job of refurbishing the National Hockey Stadium.
“The timing works well since the stadium will also host the hockey tournament for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in October. Consequently with two major tournaments they have spent a massive amount of money and the 20 000 all-seater stadium with two adjoining practice pitches is a major investment and should provide a major boost for the sport in India.
“We attended the India-Pakistan match the other evening and it was packed. An unbelievable atmosphere comparable to an NFL match in America.”
Mark continued, "We are anticipating larger crowds than we had for our opener, but the first game of the day coupled with March 1st being a National Holiday could be used as a possible explanation (for the smaller crowd). It seems that the crowds build throughout the day – and the third (evening match) will generally have a great crowd.
“We play Argentina (March 9) in our last pool match in the evening, so I anticipate a large crowd.”
Concluded Mark, “Our hotel is great and our guys are generally healthy and fit.”
Bring on the Germans – March 3rd.
O Canada – Go Canada.
