#MavericksInCanada Blog: Post #6
by Ethan Bowman
Salut, Maverick fans, #20
Ethan Bowman here to take you through day six of our trip -- and what an amazing trip it has been so far. First off, on behalf of our whole team, I'd like to thank all those involved in giving us the incredible opportunity to play new teams and explore new cultures here in Canada! We have had such a great time in Montreal and are excited for what Toronto has in store.
Today began with a 6:45 a.m. alarm, followed by a quick breakfast before our departure to Toronto. Unfortunately, there were no hotdogs today at the breakfast buffet (sorry, Matty!). Nonetheless, there were still eggs and baked beans -- a surprisingly tasty combo.
After breakfast, we planned on taking the Metro, which would drop us off near the location of the train that would ultimately take us to Toronto, but there was an emergency situation that shut down the Metro. No problem! The lads stepped up in this tough situation with a positive attitude and walked 30 minutes with all our gear to catch our train.
The train ride was five hours long and was my first experience on a train. Given this amount of time with no data or wifi to abuse, I had no choice but to sleep or stare at the handsome
Joey McCain, who sat across from me.
Fast forward five hours, and we've finally made it to Toronto! The sun was bright and the boys looked rested and refreshed, so it was bound to be a good day. We checked in our rooms, dropped off our bags and quickly walked to Chipotle and back to have a meal while we watched the Croatia vs. Denmark game. Since my team, Portugal, is out of the World Cup, Joey advised me to root for Croatia because "everybody be sleepin' on them." So I did, and they won.
After that game, we loaded up on the Toronto Metro and headed to watch Toronto FC take on the third-place New York Red Bulls. The atmosphere was electric, and Toronto's side was absolutely buzzing, but in the end they were unable to convert their chances and lost 0-1. Even so, we still had a blast cheering and conversing with the Toronto natives, who are actually as nice as everybody says.
To wrap up the night, a couple teammates and I headed across the street from our hotel to eat at Tim Horton's, a must-go place according to Canadians. Their sandwiches and smoothies were very good, I'll give it to them, but sorry, Canada, I still don't like poutine.
Overall, my experience in Canada has been a positive one. The trip has been full of winning and laughing, and who doesn't love that? Love these boys!
Thanks for reading, and Go Mavs!
Check out previous entries from the #MavericksInCanada blog below:
#1 -- Bonjour, Montreal! (June 26, Stevie Siy)
#2 -- A Visit to Saint-Hubert (June 27, Diego Gutierrez)
#3 -- Exploring Canadian Culture and Cuisine (June 28, Matt Smith)
#4 -- Bike Life in the City (June 29, Billy Hoffmann)
#5 -- An MLS Match in Montreal (June 30, Seth Rinderknecht)
For more from the Mavericks' training tour of Canada, follow Omaha Men's Soccer on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
