RCD Espanyol vs. FC Barcelona

This weekend I went to Barcelona to hang out with Kevin and his friends. On Saturday, after hiking up what felt like multiple mountains all day (in non hiking boots, mind you!), we decided to go see a futbol match.

It was never planned of course. We walked up to Park Montjuic and proceeded to check out the Olympic Stadium (Barcelona held the '92 summer games). As we walked around we noticed that people were lined up to get tickets. The game was going to be pretty big because it was two Barcelona teams playing. None of us have ever been to a European futbol match and we knew it would be an experience of a lifetime. We hesitated at first because it was a bit expensive (I will not even disclose the amount b/c I myself can´t believe I paid that much for a game), but we just had to do it. How often are we in Barcelona????

So we found a British scalper from Manchester who sold us tickets at face value. Of course I was freaking out because I thought it´d be fake or just really crappy seats. When we got in the stadium, I could NOT believe we ended up on the 2nd row! It was pretty amazing. Here I am sitting on the 2nd row in one of the coolest Olympic stadiums ever watching one of the biggest games of the season. It couldn´t get any crazyier than that!!!

Oh but it does! I have to say I have never been to such an intense sporting event like this one. Granted the sporting events I´ve been to only includes Loyola Rambler games, a few MLB games,, and a couple of MLS games, but I think it is safe to say nothing is ever as ridiculous as watching a European futbol match.

Let me just set up the scene for you a little. The Olympic Stadium is home to the Espanyol, so of course the entire stadium is full of Espanyol fans (we were sitting among them so of course, we became Espanyol fans as well...no one really wanted to be killed that night). On the upper bleachers across the stadium from us was a section of Barcelona fans. In one corner section (Puerta 8), there were about 30 to 40 Espanyol fans surrounded by a fence (almost like they were caged in). These people seemed really hard core. I can only assume that they are the ¨hooligans¨. At one point, they raised a sign that said, ¨No discriminacion a Puerta 8¨. It just made all things more interesting.

Minutes before the game began, a mini fire started in the Barcelona section. All these security guys in neon green vests started running around with buckets of water. About 3 minutes into the game, about 20 feet above us, a screaming match began somewhere in the crowd. I´m assuming there was a Barcelona straggler that somehow ended up on the wrong section. Then Barcelona makes a goal! The Barcelona section goes crazy and the mini fire erupts again. More buckets of water. Twenty minutes later, we see something being thrown from the Barcelona section to the Espanyol fans sitting below them in the lower bleachers. What did they throw you ask? A flaming piece of something...a stick, a flare, who knows??? But it was on fire! The crowd gets even crazier and people start throwing shit at each other (not in my section at least). Puerta 8 fans start running towards up the stairs and I assume they were running to go to the Barcelona section. In seconds, you see riot police come out and surround the Barcelona section. Darn, no more flaming projectiles!

And all throughout the projectiles (flaming and non-flaming) and all the fans going nuts, the game just kept going. It almost seemed like it was all so normal. Because of the police presence, everything became relatively calm. But things were still pretty intense. You constantly here the words, Puta!!!, being said or sung or whatever. Even the ten year old girl behind me was singing Puta ole ole blah blah (whatever they were chanting)! So I started shouting puta (when in Rome, right?)!

I don´t quite understand all the futbol rules, and yet when you´re at one of these games you can´t help but get so into it. I didn´t even know either team (I was initially gonna go for Barcelona just because Ronaldinho plays for them and he was the only one I recognized), but by the end of it I was rooting for Espanyol. And in the end, they tied the game...woohoo!!!

It was amazing!!! I am officially a futbol fan! I can´t wait to go to a Real Madrid game! PUTA!!!!