Did we plan for it? We couldn’t. Did we hope? Absolutely. Did our wish that Spain would make it to the quarter finals during our month in Barcelona come true? Si, si, si! They did even better than that, as the team, along with the country, prepares for the final on Sunday. I’m not sure of the exact Spanish translation, but the excitement here in Spain is “Off the hook.”
I sat with my wife and some friends at a tiny Irish pub in Tacoma, WA a week before the World Cup began. With a Guinness in front of me and a giant World Cup schedule behind it, I said, “It would sure be cool if Spain made to the quarter finals because we’ll be there.”
The win last Saturday night sent fireworks into the air and fans into the streets until the sun rose the next day. Sunday’s streets were empty. The city slept happily beneath the comforting blanket of a quarterfinal win.
On July 7th, my wife and I followed locals around downtown Barcelona until they ducked into a local bar to watch the World Cup Semifinal match. We were fan stalkers. If fans weaved, we weaved. If they tried to lose us or caught onto our scheme, we played dumb and feigned interest in a local church’s façade. But when they ducked in to a bar 20 minutes before kick off, we didn’t care if they found us out. We wanted to watch the match with them. We desired to breathe in the air of their fanaticism. It worked. By match’s end, we chanted “Viva Espana! Viva Espana!” When the ball hit the back of the net for Spain, you could feel the win.
The bars emptied into the streets. Fans flowed like water from rivers to a central lake of screams and chants and cheers on the corner of a tiny street just off the historic center of Las Ramblas. For a moment, we felt like Spaniards; we shared their victory. The people of Spain see their chance at World Cup victory, and hopefully, come Sunday, we can share a piece of it with them.
A video of the celebration can be seen at http://goodmenproject.com/2010/07/08/they-know-how-to-party-in-spain/ right below the James Franco interview.
“I embrace you with all my heart.”
3 years ago
