Game Day: El Clásico…

So yesterday afternoon, me and some of my compañeros went to Madrid to see the Clásico between Real and Barça…And trust me when I say this: It.Was.AWESOME…

…Us on the bus…

O.K., so when we got to Madrid, we immediately went to the Bernabéu (Madrid’s home stadium), and there were thousands of people in and around it–which really isn’t surprising, considering that this was a match between two of the, if the the, most successful clubs in the world, and furthermore, two clubs with the most epic rivalry in the world…

More Than Just a Game: El Clásico de Fútbol…

O.K., so I’m excited for two reasons: 1) I’m going to my first professional football match, and 2) It’s not just a football match, it’s El Clásico (The Classic)…

Now, when I refer to football (or fútbol, as it’s called it Spanish), I’m not talking about that watered-down, Americanized version of rugby…I’m talking about this:

A game with 11 players on each side where the object is to kick/head-butt the ball into the net of the opposing team…Now this is real football because all the players (except the goalie) aren’t allowed to use anything but their feet (unless someone’s throwing in the ball from the sidelines)…Add the fact that these people are essentially running around a field with more square yards than an American “football” field, during which their trying to manuever a ball/steal it from people solely with their feet while the people from the other squad are trying to trip you/knock you over, with very little rest for 90 minutes (or more)–yeah, there’s more than a little athleticism involved here…