I come from a family that did not watch sports, of any kind. In middle school, my father once turned on the Super Bowl just so we could see what a halftime show was, and that´s all I remember about sports in my childhood. So I've never really watched sports on television nor attended many games in person. But when I came to Spain, I decided I wanted to experience it as part of the culture. I have limited myself to the all-Spain teams, which means I saw a few of the women's World Cup games, men´s Euro Cup games, and now the men's World Cup. And it just so happens that the Spanish teens did very well in all of those competitions.
Starting early on Sunday morning, the day of the World Cup final, you could see people dressed and ready for the party. In Spain, it's typical that the local governments put up large screens in each community so that everybody can watch together outside. That's probably pretty amazing, but the idea of standing outside in the heat for 3 hours sounded rather unpleasant. Instead, a friend invited me to watch with her and her daughter and we had a very civilized dinner while doing so.
Our TV feed was oddly delayed by two seconds, which meant every time Spain did something important, we'd hear a huge roar from outside several seconds before we'd find out why. It was a nail-biting match with almost no scoring, but in the end Spain did it! Afterwards, I soaked in the fireworks and roars of joy from the streets. On my way home, I watched two boys, young teens, sprint down the sidewalk, but then stop to join hands with a random guy on the street and dance around for a minute.
Starting early on Sunday morning, the day of the World Cup final, you could see people dressed and ready for the party. In Spain, it's typical that the local governments put up large screens in each community so that everybody can watch together outside. That's probably pretty amazing, but the idea of standing outside in the heat for 3 hours sounded rather unpleasant. Instead, a friend invited me to watch with her and her daughter and we had a very civilized dinner while doing so.
Our TV feed was oddly delayed by two seconds, which meant every time Spain did something important, we'd hear a huge roar from outside several seconds before we'd find out why. It was a nail-biting match with almost no scoring, but in the end Spain did it! Afterwards, I soaked in the fireworks and roars of joy from the streets. On my way home, I watched two boys, young teens, sprint down the sidewalk, but then stop to join hands with a random guy on the street and dance around for a minute.
It felt really nice to be part of a nation-wide experience (even though I didn´t end up joining the two-million people who went to watch the victory parade the following day*). I can´t think of something similar in the US. The biggest event on our calendar is the Super Bowl, but people are rooting for different sides. The Olympics are national, but there are so many different competitions, it doesn´t feel like you are participating in the same moment as everyone else around you, feeling the same feelings. Iam glad I got to experience it.
The metro train that took me home. I even joined in the singing for a few moments.
*Note that twice as many people showed up for the national fútbol team as the Pope. Their true passions are revealed.
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