Vamos Espana!

Spanish people really love soccer.

Actually, they only really love THEIR soccer.

I just watched Spain lose their opening match to Switzerland. What a bummer. But it was still fun.

I was beyond excited to be in Spain/Europe for the World Cup, but so far it hasn’t been all it’s cracked up to be. At home I would watch every game on my comfy couch with some chips and guacamole and free beverages, and my mother would watch and bet on matches with me. For a big game we’d have a little party or I’d go to a friend’s if he had a bigger screen. ESPN would broadcast every match, and it would be great. We’d wake up at 7 because it’s that important. It’s like an exclusive club for those in the know. Here, only the night games are broadcast on public channels, so I have to go to bars or watch a fuzzy stream on my tiny computer. Unfortunately most places are closed from 2-5, and there’s a game at 4 every day. The night game lasts from 8:30-10:30, and I have to eat dinner at 10. Watching in a bar is not as fun as it sounds either; the people here care less what you think. The one downside to the World Cup is having to listen to the people who, once every four years, pretend to care about soccer and insist upon sharing with you all their extensive knowledge. People who like to pretend to care about soccer = American exchange students, and that’s my unshakable company for these games. The Spaniards watch in their homes or not at all, because they really only care about Spain until the final matches.

Nevertheless, it was really cool to see a whole nation get behind a football team today. Even those who unashamedly dislike soccer know when the game is on and will ask how it went. Flags are everywhere (a very unique occurrence in Spain). While walking to the bar some guy grabbed my arm and wouldn’t let me go until I allowed him to paint a Spanish flag on my face, and then I got a free wristband from the bar. As much as the Spanish haven’t cared about the world cup so far, that’s how much they cared about today’s game. For the first time since arriving in Spain, today I was so glad to be here for my favorite sporting event ever [disclaimer: the World Cup ties for favorite with winter Olympics].