Real Madrid vs. Real Sociedad

Spain is obsessed with soccer. It's the subject of entire TV channels, newspapers, and endless discussion. While I was in Barcelona, I purchased a Barcelona FC sweatshirt. In the few days I have worn it in Madrid, I have gotten called out by taxi drivers and people on the street-the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry is considered one of the largest rivalries in the world, nicknamed 'El Clasico,' partly because it features soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo and the even better Lionel Messi. On this day, we were not seeing such a matchup, but we were seeing Real Madrid. Real Madrid is one of four Madrid teams, and it is the most popular. Their stadium, Santiago Bernebau, sits 85,000.

Our view was not fantastico

I decided even before we left for the game to root for their opposition, Real Sociedad from the city of San Sebastian, because I wanted Barcelona to stay on the top of the standings. After a very crowded metro ride, we arrived at the stadium. Outside, there we many vendors of knockoff Real Madrid jerseys and food carts. We were setting in the very last row of the building, so our view was not fantastic, but we could tell which team was which. To prevent violence, fans of the away team are kept in a special section and separated from the home fans by a barrier and police. Similarly, the hooligan section, the most extreme fans of Real Madrid, were surrounded by police. The hooligans lead loud chants and all wore the same white jersey.

While introducing players, the stadium announcer says the players first name and the crowd is supposed to complete it. For example, the announcer said "Christiano..." and the crowd answered "Ronaldo!" This was slightly more difficult for us as we did not know the full names of all the players, especially one whose full name was Nacho.

                                                      Atmosphere from our section

During the game, the referees called two very dubious penalties, but we got to see Ronaldo miss a penalty, which is rare. He did score on the second penalty, however. Later, Real Sociedad equalized with an amazing goal. I cheered loudly, much to the annoyance of both my family and a boy sitting in the row in front of us, who stared at me with pure hatred in his eyes. Eventually, Real Madrid won, 3-1.

On our way back home, my cousin Sabina lost her phone via a hole in her pocket (or a pickpocket depending on who you ask). We later went out to an Indian restaurant to dinner (despite my protest). It was better than I expected, even though Spain is not known for its Indian food. At the end of the day, I checked the scores and saw that Barcelona had won their game as well. Barcelona was on top of the standings, just where they belonged.