Fútbol (Val)

Although some of our nieces and nephews have keen interests and athletic abilities in soccer and, although we have seen some of their games and a few international games, our visit to Spain may be the beginning of a new favorite pastime for both of us.  Soccer - as we call it or fútbol, as the rest of the world calls it - is almost a religion among Spaniards and most of our other international friends.  We chatted a lot about fútbol when we stayed with Stu and Susie.  Stu is a scout for the South Hampton English team and goes to matches several times a week trying to entice some of the Spaniards to join the English team.  Stu commented that the Spaniards seem to play the game more collaboratively and strategically than some other teams.

As the fútbol season is in the semi finals, you can imagine the excitement in the pubs when the matches were on.  First, we watched Barcelona play Chelsea, England one evening in Roses.  When in Barcelona, we watched 3 more matches- Barcelona vs Madrid, another Barcelona vs Chelsea, and finally a Madrid vs Bayern, Munich.  I kind of adopted Barcelona as my team of choice but, sadly, watched them fall to their opponents for 3/3 matches.  We especially enjoyed the energy in the pubs and noticed that people aren't necessarily loyal to their home city team.  In particular, we watched the 2nd Barcelona vs Chelsea match at a "locals" English pub in Barcelona.  It was really a fun experience!  Pints in hand, we tipped our glasses and cheered for the successes of our adopted Barcelona team but some of the Spanish-speaking locals were actually rooting for Chelsea.  It was really fun experience.  English and Spanish friends speaking in both languages (or a combination thereof) cheering successes, discussing strategies, and occasionally cursing - pretty much the same scene as you might experience watching a Broncos vs Green Bay game at Tony's (a Packers Pub) in downtown Colorado Springs :).  

We're not sure yet if allegiance for Barcelona is temporary or permanent  - we may need to watch a few more teams play before we decide but one thing is pretty certain - we will be tuning into a few more fútbol matches or heading to the pub to watch them and participate in the excitement!

Watching Barcelona vs Chelsea at an English Pub in Barcelona