December 18th, 2003 | The lowdown by Marion Wise

Futbol in Spain

It was Saturday night and the bars were packed at 9 p.m., an unusually early hour for Spaniards to be out, except that it was the night of the Big Game, the unparalleled match-up between Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona.

Tense, anxious sentiments permeated the smokey air as the madrileños, many dressed in black (their team color) or wearing Real Madrid bufandas (scarves), prepared for one of the biggest battles of the year. Their beloved Real had been faltering recently and was in for a real fight at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium, which holds around 98,000 fans.

The rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona runs deep and extends to the politics of the cities. But, the primary contention is between Real Madrid and F.C. Barcelona. Last year, Real Madrid won the Liga, the Spanish premiere league, as well as the Champions League European Cup, a league that includes the top teams from across the continent.

Real Madrid is like the New York Yankees of soccer - they have ridiculous amounts of money that they use to lure all the best players in the world, including the awesome Frenchman Zenidine Zidane, Brazilian Roberto Carlos, the Portuguese star Luis Figo, who they took from F.C. Barcelona, and most recently, Ronaldo, who they acquired in September from Italy's Inter Milan team.

F.C. Barcelona has its share of top players and history as well. They ceded in the semi-finals of the European Cup last year. But, with players like Juan Román Riquelme, Patrick Kluivert, and frontrunner Javier Saviola, they're sure to provide stiff competition for Real.

The bar scene was surprisingly quiet as everyone focused intently on the game. However, the minute a poor call was made, the fans were whistling (their way of showing disapproval, comparable to booing), and when Real had a close shot on goal, you could feel the excitement culminating.

Partway into the second half, the game still tied 0-0, Real Madrid had a corner kick, and the Barcelona fans went nuts. As Figo took the ball over to the corner of the field to prepare his kick, the corner was bombarded with plastic bottles, aluminum cans, and all sorts of garbage. Barcelona fans are still mad at Figo for trading to their biggest rival, and they made it obvious that he is not welcome in their stadium.

Although Figo intended to continue with the play, the situation was clearly getting out-of-control, and the refs stopped the game, fearing that players would be injured by the flying debris. Hence, play was stopped for about 10 minutes - a rarity in soccer games.

Unfortunately, the game ended in an anti-climatic tie, and neither group of fans was satisfied by the results. Nonetheless, they will pack the bar again next week, pumped up for the next game, because soccer is the epitome of Spanish culture. Its players are prominent heroes that every kid emulates. Every father's dream is for his son to become the next fútbol star. Soccer truly is more than just a pastime here; it's a way of life.