There couldn’t have been a better way to end our time in Spain than at a Barcelona soccer game, or fútbol in this case. Originally we were supposed to fly out to Athens, Greece on the day of the game but decided to miss our flight when we found out they had a match that evening in Camp Nou – Barcelona Football Clubs’ Stadium. Camp Nou is the largest soccer stadium in all of Europe and the 3rd largest in the world, holding about 99,000 people at every event. There are plans to make it even larger sometime in the future.
Being from the U.S., I’ve never considered soccer a huge deal. Probably because there are so many other sports, we can watch on ESPN. But for Europeans, soccer is everything. They go crazy over soccer and have so much pride in their favorite team. This is apparent by the volume of noise heard from around the stadium.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t understand a single word the announcer was saying over the speakers or anyone else sitting around us for that matter. Luckily, ‘BOO’ and ‘YAYY’ are universal languages at all sporting events, no matter what country, and we could understand the mood of the entire stadium just by that and a few hand gestures.
Everyone in the stadium is very focused on watching the entire game and would only get up to go to the bathroom or grab food during the break. Also, the food at the stadium was relatively cheap, which I was not expecting. You could get a hotdog, drink and a bag of candy for 6 euros. At a stadium in the U.S., that would easily be over $20.
FUN FACT:
When the match clock reaches 17:14 at Camp Nou, it has become a tradition for Catalonians to chant, Independencia! This is because Catalonia was defeated during that year – 1714, and became a part of Spain. The chant is used to demonstrate that Catalonians still want their independence, even to this day.
Overall, it was a great experience, and I’m glad we ditched our flight to Greece. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, to watch their biggest soccer club, with some of the greatest players in the game, at the largest European soccer stadium. If you’re ever in Barcelona, I highly recommend attending a game. Fútbol plays such a huge role in Spanish culture, and whether you’re a sports enthusiast or not, it’s an awesome experience and had me reminiscing about the days of playing FIFA on XBOX.
Barcelona FC defeated Magala that night 1-0, having all the fans leaving the stadium happy as well as us. We bought these jerseys while in Barcelona (bandwagoners) but can now keep them as souvenirs with some good memories.
