Real Madrid vs. Real Betis!!
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2006
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13
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Trip End
May 10, 2006
Sevilla, Spain
Thursday, January 19, 2006
The futbol game was AMAZING!!! We went to see a tournament game between Real Madrid (the 4th best team in the world, David Beckham's team) and Real Betis (one of the many Sevilla teams).
So i bought my ticket from my friend Lindsay (who i'm going to London with... more on that later) because she couldn't go, but i really didn't have any information about it. I found the guy that was organizing the game, found out where he lived and what time to meet. So i left with plenty of time to spare because i didn't want to be late and have to figure out the bus by myself.
I walked up and down the street he lived on, no one. No tech students, no americans, no one i recognized. It was taking a lot for me not to get too flustered as i was thinking about the 40 euros i spent on this ticket. Eventually our group pieced together (apparently early is bad... 15 mintutes late is good... haha) and we headed out to the bus stop.
I was shocked to see how big and how loud the stadium was. I don't know what i was expecting, but this surpassed my expectations in every way. We couldn't figure out where we were supposed to sit (we got in about the right area) so we found some open seats and sat down. I was so moved by the energy and the hugeness that my eyes swelled and my tears fell. There was this unity shared by thousands of people who didn't know each other that was... breathtaking. I didn't think anything could steal my breath like the "raider power" at the cotton bowl, but i didn't even know...
The game was intense, and the fans were PASSIONATE. Although Real Madrid is the big hip team, the majority of the stadium was wearing green because of the location of the game. The refs made a few bad calls, and once an old man stormed onto the field and began waving his finger in the ref's face as the call was reviewed!
Both teams played amazingly well, but Real Madrid scored the only goal. By the time the game was over, the buses had quit running and we were left to our own devices. We walked in our group for a while, then split up into cabs to take us to our individual neighborhoods.
This was my first cab ride here in Spain, and it was VERY different than in the states. The car was so clean, smelled wonderful, and my driver was dressed neatly and shaved. We conversed for a little while, he was patient with my spanish, and before i knew it, I was home!
It was a wonderful, wonderful night! Be sure and check out these photographs, because this night will be one i will remember for the rest of my life.
Hasta Luego!
