Parents cheering:
"Good effort, good effort. Good plan. Keep working, Blue! Keep possession guys...
They sound just like local soccer parents, but these folks are in Cleveland to cheer `their' boys on; from Guelph, a Canadian city of about 200,000 - 60 miles west of Toronto.
But they're not among the parents who made the longest trips to Northeast Ohio.
NICOLE MANCHOFF:
"...This year we have 32 hundred athletes representing 16 different countries. It has grown enormously."
Nicole Manchoff is site co-coordinator, and a coach at Laurel School, which is hosting many of the games at its complex in Russell Township.
She says the growth of the Continental Cup event from largely local in 2006; to what it's become now, is even surprising it's organizers.
Although the tournament has since added baseball and basketball - and will likely add lacrosse in 2011, it is soccer that fuels the passion - particularly with the second year of sponsorship from AC Milan, the worlds' most successful soccer institution. Milan itself has sent 1,000 people to Cleveland this week.
{Parents: "C'mon Braden move up, move up - go Kirk GO!}
Guelph was one of 153 soccer teams in Cleveland, 53 from other countries. In this game Guelph was playing a team from the Ramapo Valley in New York State. It's the Tornadoes first AC Milan tournament, but parent Geena Ironside thinks ... it's one they'll return to.
GEENA IRONSIDE:
"Tournaments'' fabulous. They're teams here from India, the Caribbean. It's really exciting and we came a long way to be here."
Yes, India.
Alongside teams from Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, Bermuda... it's an impressive list.
A Canadian girls team, from Burlington is up against 12 year olds from North Olmsted.
Katherine Canopini called the action for me as her daughter cleared a shot in front of her own goal.
KATHERINE CANOPINI:
"Well here's that fantastic #5 from Burlington Sophia Canopini - 'just about to take a goal kick'... (and watching her mom do an interview).... THUMP... Oh no, she put it right in the middle.."
Moments later, after North Olmsted converted a goal, Canadian coach Jim Warren told me that the competition here, is like none other for his youngsters.
JIM WARREN:
"American teams play a different game than we do, eh? (Ball slams off goal post) American teams are a lot more physical teams.
We don't ...(A mother behind the play:` OOOOO!') We don't play as physical.
(RICK:- does that make it difficult?)
It does, yeah. It does. But a reason we're here too; it toughens the girls up."
Besides the high level of competition, the Cleveland visit provides players an emotional experience they say is unmatched anywhere else they travel.
Nicole Manchoff thinks that coming here during the World Cup play this year, boosted the excitement exponentially.
MANCHOFF:
"I really do - I think so! This tournament's something different - we have the World Cup opening ceremony style where all the teams come out... it's different than all of the other tournaments than I think these teams go to."
Cleveland's sports commission says it's a winner for the region, and trots out figures of $4 million impact, from the 4,000 rooms spread across 10 hotels, to costs of food and basic tourism.
There are 330 soccer games, 107 basketball and baseball matches this weekend. The preliminary games are free to the public.
Soccer finals are at John Carroll University, and the baseball finals at Progressive Field.
wild sound / parents yelling
