More than a game...

Being in Europe for the past three months has freed me somewhat from the constant barrage of American sports in the media.  It might shock you to learn that ESPN has actually taken something of a backseat in my consciousness, for probably the first time since… I dunno, 1991?  Ah, do you remember Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann firing up Sportscenter in the early ‘90’s?  The blue sets, the cheesy lettering, the ground breaking meaningless banter that we all adored.  They changed sports forever.  It was no longer just about the games anymore.  Following sports became a way of life.  Coverage of sports wasn’t three hours a night anymore, it was 24/7, and of course it’s not only stayed that way ever since, but it has progressed ridiculously.  We covered ESPN's world domination here, if you want to check it out.    

2010 in Bristol... the post Blue Era

I guess you could say that it’s the “something for everyone” approach.  Just tune in to one of espn’s many cable channels, check their online content, scroll their podcasts, or check one of the hundreds of radio channels they have across the country.  They’ve got something for everyone and business, of course, is booming.  Everyone loves a distraction, and sports offers it in spades.  It’s even a socially condoned distraction actually, and everybody loves those, right?         

And right on cue, I was just made aware that last weekend, that the NFL started its Pre-Season schedule.  These are games that actually mean nothing, (and not just in the grand-scheme sense that my theatre friends like to talk about.)  The best players don’t really play at all, and yet pretty much everyone in the states celebrates them as if they are Thanksgiving Day parades.  Why?  Because Americans are so over baseball, and endless drug scandal stalk.  Well except for Red Sox fans and Dodger fans, I guess.  And the Braves are always good of course.  But for the rest of America, Basketball and Hockey have been done for two months already, and the dregs of the summer, (i.e. enduring 4,860 games of a baseball season) inevitably take their toll. 

So people put all of their attention into Football!  It's much more "America's past-time" these days than baseball is.  America simply loves football, about as much as all the other sports combined, and this is the time of year when they are just begging their home-town teams (or close-by teams… or randomly selected teams thousands of miles away) to take them away from their thoughts.  Inclusion is a basic human trait, and there’s nothing like going to a sports bar on Sunday and taking in all the coordinated sea of colors to hammer home that point.  Sure, people need camaraderie, but how much?  And should it be in one’s daily thoughts? 

Which bring us from “tackleball,” to the real game of football; the one that makes a lot more sense to be called “football.”  The game that is loved all over the world as much as all other sports combined, by people that will probably punch you if you dare call their game “soccer.”  Especially here in Catalunya, and here in Barcelona.  Here football more than a sport.  It’s even more than a religion.  It’s identity, it’s historical and cultural, it’s everything.  It’s FC Barcelona. 

Walking into this stadium, Camp Nou in the heart of this city, I felt it.  Bustling with fans on a random Saturday a week or two before the season even starts, I saw true joy on the faces of the masses.  Celebrating in their crimson, yellow, and blue jerseys which almost all said Messi on the back, the crowds flocked to the museum mixed in with the stadium itself.  They called it the Camp Nou Experience.  It started with the museum, which was littered with about 2,000 trophies and an elaborate timeline of the club’s history.  My favorites were the old balls and banners.  These billion dollar industries had such meager beginnings, and especially with football.  Think about it.  What’s needed to play football?  When I was a kid, all we needed was a ball, two sticks, (or shoes, or shirts, or anything really) to mark the goal posts, and some space to run around in.  That’s it.  Even at the pro level, the basics necessities are just that; pretty much as basic as it gets.  And when FC Barcelona started playing matches back in 1899, I’m sure they couldn’t have possibly imagined the sights and sounds of today’s sports world.  

But what they did know was their own culture.  The eastern Catalonian traditions and history were being dismissed and overrun more and more by Spanish culture, and the two had long been odds with each other.  The government wasn’t interested in it, there was no place to sanctify Catalonian pride or to celebrate it.  So that’s what FC Barcelona became.  It wasn’t just about a team or about games.  It was a place to identify yourself, to learn values, to celebrate your family, and to become strong in the face of adversity.  The rivalry between FCB and Real Madrid became much more than a sports rivalry over the course of the last century.  It’s been the core of Catalan identity.  And to this day, the Barca’s live and die by whether they can stick-it to the government, to the Spanish, to Real Madrid.  It’s obsession.  Even the Red Sox and Yankee fans don’t hate each other like that!  

The experience continued through various press rooms, the visiting locker room, the concession cafeteria, and finally the walk down to the field.  That long walk also happens to pass the chapel , which has its own mini-version of the Black Madonna!  Yes the biggest stadium in Europe that seats 98,772, wouldn’t be complete without this.  Can you imagine how many of the faithful get their prayer on before big games?  This place must be packed. 

The real Black Madonna in Monserrat

A few months ago, I made it out to Montserrat, a beautiful monastery in the mountains north of town, to see the actual Black Madonna.  A wooden sculpture of Mary and child, which inexplicably turned black, and over time became the most sacred pilgrimage destination for the Catlan people.  It was said to have been carved by St Luke (of Gospels) and brought to the region by St Peter, but carbon dating has determined that its really only about 800 years old.  So y’know, chalk it up; another legend ruined by carbon dating.  Even so, people wait for hours up at Montserrat to walk by quickly and touch her hand because she’s that important.  I think I waited for about 45 minutes when I was there so it must have been a slow day.  But I’m sure at Camp Nou, on game day, the line would be much longer!

So after the field level view and walk through, we ended up in the tv and radio booth, which was way cool.  They even have the tvs running the greatest Barca goals of all time, so you don’t have to depend on your imagination.  And of course, everyone had to take turns yelling, “GOOOOoooooooooooooooooAAAAALLLLL!!!!”

Greg Fakes the call!

From there the experience lead us back into the museum which of course eventually spills out into a massive gift shop; a constant reminder of the firm grip this club has on the area.  It would be like if you combined the Yankees and the Lakers (which of course, I would never do) and that’s what it’s like.  



Well, if Derek Jeter and Kobe Bryant were combined into Lionel Messi (who looks like an accountant by the way, doesn’t he?  Talk about an unassuming mega-star athlete!  This guy isn’t Lebron!)

Lionel Messi... played by Matt Broderick

But here, that guy is the King.  

And so is football.

So don’t mess with it…. and don’t call it soccer :)

Let the season begin!

And thanks for reading

Underdogs out!