For our readers that haven’t stalked me on social media yet, I maintain this fabulous blog from the beautiful city of Barcelona. I have been here for about two months and I am slowly but surely assimilating to the Catalan culture and language. Most importantly, I have learned that FC Barcelona is much more than just a football club; it’s a family, a feeling, a lifestyle. This passion and love for the club, as well as the country that it represents, was something that I experienced to the fullest on Wednesday night when Barcelona took on Paris SG. Wednesday night’s game was the second of a two-game series to determine which club would move on in the Champions League and which would be eliminated. Since Barcelona had shockingly lost the first game 0-4, in order to not be eliminated they needed to defy the impossible and win with a score of at least 5-0. Despite the unachievable nature of the task at hand, the stadium was packed, the fans had faith, and the players started the game strong and determined.
I wasn’t at the stadium, but I promise you I could feel the emotion from my couch. Fast forward to the final minutes of the game, Barcelona had fought well but with a score of only 4-1 there wasn’t much hope of scoring the necessary 6th goal to save themselves from elimination. Impossible. I went back to my beloved Netflix. To be honest I was just trying to gather enough information to be able to convince my boyfriend I had watched the game when he got home from the stadium. Then all of a sudden the bar across the street from my bedroom window erupts in celebration. Hold tight Netflix, something exciting is happening. By what seemed like divine intervention, the scoreboard had changed from 4-1 to 6-1 as I was enjoying watching The Crown. Within a blink of an eye the outcome of the game changed from an “oh, well close but no cigar” to the most unbelievable comeback in European football history. Now I admit that a few months ago I probably wouldn’t have cared about or even understood the significance of this sporting event, but I can honestly say that I was quite moved to see a group of young men achieve the seemingly impossible. It was also particularly moving to see on TV the reactions of the fans when the final goal was scored. There was a wild explosion of pure emotion, shock, happiness, and celebration, that could only have come from a group of people that were truly passionate about their club and the sport of football.
As an American who thinks of a very different sport when I hear the word “football”, it is hard for me to grasp the magnitude of joy that a FC Barcelona fan must have felt in that moment when the winning goal was scored. It makes me happy to try to imagine that die-hard 7 year old fan who is now captivated by football and will love the sport for the rest of his life because of the experience he had at Wednesday night’s game. This lifelong love and passion for sports is what we hope to teach children through our very own My Pal for Soccer doll and booklet, so seeing it come to life on the faces of young Barcelona fans this week was truly inspiring.