Campeones...Campeones...OLE! OLE! OLE! OLE! OLE!

Yesterday was a crazy day, for a few different reasons…which is why I’m writing this the following day. We started yesterday by walking around Barcelona and taking in the Architecture and whatnot. We started at Sagrada Familia, the famous Antoni Gaudi cathedral that has been in existence since 1882 and has yet to be completed. After that we went to Mont Monjuic where we heard we could find some amazing views…we were not let down regarding this claim. The National Art Gallery of Barcelona on Mont Monjuic overlooks the entire city providing a great place for a picnic! After the gallery we walked all around Mont Montjuic…literally ALL AROUND. We did take the subway to the area, but once there we decided against taking the Teleferic (it’s one of those gondola ski lift type things) straight to the top, and instead circled pretty much the entire area, which included the Olympic Stadium, as we made our way to the top. The main reason we wanted to go to the top is because there’s suppose to be a castle at the top…thankfully the journey was worth it as the castle did exist, was pretty cool, and provided more views of the city. After walking back down Mont Montjuic we took the subway to the Gothic district, made our way back to Las Ramblas and the market there for some more fruit, and then walked back to our hostel to get ready for the Champions League Final, Barcelona vs Manchester United.

Before we left for our trip through Europe I had checked the dates and knew that we would be in Barcelona during the Champions League Finals match. I knew that even though the final is being played in Rome, that be in Barcelona for the game would be an unreal experience…I was DEFINITELY not disappointed.

Hopefully my entry for the AC Milan game a couple days ago gives you somewhat an idea of what soccer/football (whatever you want to call it) means to most European countries. Well that game was just a regular season match with only slight implications on the season’s outcome…the Champions League is so much more. For those of you who don’t know, the Champions League is a tournament held throughout the year between the best teams from the best leagues in Europe. This year Barcelona had already won their league title, as well as their National tournament the Copa del Rey, and a Champions League title would make them the first Spanish team ever to hold all three titles at the same time. Needless to say we came to Barcelona for a once in a lifetime experience.

We watched the game at the Maremagnum where the game was playing on a giant big screen; this was one of a few different locations in the city where we were told the game would be playing. The reason we came to Maremagnum is because we were told this place one wouldn’t be as crazy…wrong. Once we got their we had to push our way through a football field sized area of wall-to-wall, standing room only Barca fans until we could see the screen…luckily we had strength in numbers as we went with a group of about 10 from the hostel, so we were able to get a spot eventually. I can’t begin to explain the atmosphere and how chaotic it was leading up to the match…chant after chant leading up to the kick-off.

Once the match started things seemed to calm down, as everyone was intent on seeing the action. For the first 10 minutes Man-U dominated play, outshooting Barca 5 to 0…but in the 10th minute of the game Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o weaved his way into the box and put Barcelona’s first shot into the back of the net….the eruption that ensued where we were was full of absolute, unbridled enthusiasm from everyone there. High-5s and hugs all as a mist of wine and beer was sprayed into the air. From this point on Barcelona seemed to take control and at the end of the first half the score was 1-0.

For most of the second half everyone seemed to be on pins and needles as the decisive goal was yet to be struck…either an equalizer from Man-U or a clincher for Barca. Finally in the 71st minute, Barcelona’s star and fan favorite Leonel Messi headed a cross back across the goalies face and into the goal making the score 2-0 making the match all but over. At this point the crowd at Maremagnum was jubilant beyond belief…strangers hugging strangers, group pictures, fireworks…complete euphoria.

Barcelona held on for the 2-0 victory, which is when the party really started. All of our friends from the hostel headed out as the game was ending, but Erica and I decided to stay and brave the chaos that we knew was about to ensue. When I use the words crazy, chaos, insane, and out of control to describe the celebration…I don’t feel as though they begin to describe what we experienced. I don’t really know the way to describe it…complete madness I guess. Picture a Husker National Championship, then take it times 100, 1000, 1 million…I don’t know if that’s even enough. Anything you could climb, a person was hanging from…anything with a fuse, was lit (often)…every celebratory chant, was chanted all night. Literally miles of streets were jam packed with fans the entire night…it’s a good thing we had the sense to make it home shortly after 1 am because watching the news this morning it really got crazy, lets just say the riot police was involved. I really just can’t believe I was right in the middle of what seems to be Barcelona’s biggest moment in sports since the ’92 Olympic Games, if not ever…and glad I took part in the whole thing without an M-80 blowing up in my face.