futbol recap

so nellie and i recently went to spain and france. we were fortunate enough to go to a real madrid. the only downside was that win or lose, real madrid was going to finish second for the season. they couldnt catch leaders, barcelona, and the third place team couldnt catch them. nonetheless, they still played the starters, which i was happy about, they just didnt have too much to play for. but i did walk away with a few thoughts/observations.

the players.

soccer players are short. its never been a sport dominated by 'big men' like football or basketball. i knew this, yet was still surprised to see these players in person. when they are on tv, you cant really tell how tall or short they are. plus, when they are all pretty much the same size, you cant really tell that they are all 5'9 or 5'10. plus, they are all pretty thin. not terribly thin, just fit and not too bulky. something that you can also see on tv, but in person you realize these guys arent intimidating like basketball players. those players all look 'average' on tv until you realize that john stockton who looks like a midget on the court was actually 6'0 and all the other players are at least 6'5.

speaking of players. at the end of the first half, iker casillas (the real madrid goal keeper) took off his gloves and threw them into the stands. then on his way to the tunnel he took off his jersey and threw it to the girl 5 seats away from us. same row, just 5 seats to the left. i couldnt believe it. as he was jogging over i had my arms outstretched and was yelling 'iker! iker!' but he didnt choose me. i dont know what i would have done if he threw it to me. probably squeezed it so hard that the sweat would have run all over my body and wept tears of joy like a little child. seriously though, how awesome would that have been? i wish i knew that he was going to come so close to us. i would have made nellie take off her ring and be the one screaming his name. surely it would have increased our odds of getting the jersey.

the game.

the game is so fast. everyone is so fast. the ball moves fast and everyone is so quick. it was like the speed of an indoor soccer game, only on a field 120 yards long. again, i felt like this was something that tv hides. either because when two fast people are running side by side, it blurs how fast they are really going, or you just cant really grasp it until they are running past you. whatever the reason, these players move fast and are so skilled. its much faster than i expected.

the fans and the stadium.

so there are lots of cool things that just made it a different sporting experience. a cultural experience even. one great thing is that i dont think they sell food inside the stadium. they might, im not quite sure. we walked in and out of the same tunnel, but we didnt see anyone selling any food. so there were tons of food vendors outside the stadium selling all sorts of snacks and food. people just walking in with all sorts of great items, and its totally fine. no crazy security or owners upset that if people bring in food that means they wont buy the $15 hot dog inside the stadium.

the coolest part was at halftime when literally everyone pulled out a bocadillo and started eating. a halftime dinner. just some bread, meat and cheese. no sauce or anything. you dont need it when your bread is fresh, your meat is freshly sliced off of the leg of the pig right when you buy it, and your cheese is strong. seriously though, nellie and i felt out of place not eating a sandwich at halftime. everyone whipped out the sandwich that they were allowed to bring in, and just calmly ate while pondering the events of the first half.

no instant replay. i thought there would have been, because it just seems normal, but there isnt. if you missed a play or a goal, you wont see it until you get home. not that it matters though because everyone is watching. its not like there are breaks or anything. you cant leave until halftime. you go to a sporting event and everyone is there to watch the game. crazy huh? some fans were even sitting alone. they were my favorite. again, just there to see their favorite team play.

so there are two final things that i really wish we would adopt at sporting events in the u.s. the first one is whistling. people dont boo their team, they whistle. and its great. there is always debate about whether fans should boo their team or any players. espn people always elevate themselves above everyone and say something lame like they would never boo a player because its just wrong or not classy because its not like you could do any better.


but that is what is so great about whistling. its like mock cheering. there is something different about whistling as opposed to booing. it just feels different. its more of a 'you dont deserve our cheers so we wont give them to you, and its not so much that we are going to boo you, but you are just playing poor and we expect more out of you, mainly because we love you, but also because we know you can play better and should play better and we want to see it. shame on you.' whistling is really very fitting and should be adopted.

nothing really beats the chanting and singing fans though. no p.a. system at the game. not like there is really a moment to play music though as the play is continuous. but you dont need it when you have fans that cheer and sing the entire time. one of these clips is of the game but you can hear in the background the constant cheering of fans. the other video actually shows the fans cheering. they did this cheer over and over for about 10 minutes. i cant quite understand it. ive looked for it online, but i havnt found it. either way, its just great that they stand around a sing all game. so fun.