Futbol (which is actually soccer) - January 2015

 One of the many things on my list of things to experience while in Europe was to attend a soccer (Futbol) game.  So Ross and I were really excited when our friend Lloyd told us about a great deal on tickets to see Valladolid play Lugo on Sunday.  There is a shop in town that was offering two tickets and 3 bottles of wine for 15 euros! We gathered a few friends and decided to all make a day of it.

Myself, Ross, Lloyd, Heather, Laura and Kevin all met up early in the afternoon and grabbed tapas and a few beverages at a few small bars up in Parquesol (suburb of Valladolid).  Ross and I were only able to eat tapas at one of the bars since as usual there is meat in everything everywhere.  I was starved after a while but luckily Lloyd had kindly made us lunch reservations at a great Mexican restaurant.  There wasn’t a whole lot we could get (surprise surprise) but they did offer to make us fajitas with beans instead of meat so that was nice.

It ended up being delicious and the restaurant was beautifully decorated and had a killer view of the city.  There is one hill in Valladolid and we were on it!  We drank margaritas and had a typical (not for us but for Spaniards) 3 hour lunch.  It was perfect and we were then ready to brave the cold and sit in a stadium watching Futbol.

I was surprised first of all that you are unable to buy booze at the games.  I fully expected to drink beers while we watched but apparently they no longer allow alcohol to keep people from rioting I guess.  I wish someone had told me this sooner so I could have acted like a teenager and snuck some in my jacket.  So we drank coke with a tiny bit of rum that Lloyd brought and shared with us.

The game itself was about as interesting as I expected.  I have never been a soccer fan, other than watching Italy play in the world cup with my Nana, and kicking a ball around in the backyard with the family.  I do not think it is a very exciting sport.  However it is obviously very popular here in Europe so I knew I had to give it a go.

There were not that many people there but I was assured that when the weather is nicer and it is a more important game the crowds are huge.  Lloyd was explaining that Valladolid is in the second tier of the Futbol league.  They are too good for second tier but not good enough for first.  It is too bad because in second tier they do not get to play teams outside of the Spanish league.  Where in tier one they play teams from all over Europe. The people around us were very into it though (from what I could gather since I cant understand a lot of what they are saying) But I do understand cheers and drum banging and I learned a ton of new curse words! 

The score ended up at 0-0.  But our count of dives was something like 3-4.  There was one injury that seemed legit but it was mostly guys crying over tripping over their own feet.  Overall I had a great time and a really fun day.  I will definitely try to catch a few more games while I am here.  It may not be my favourite sport but I will not be seeing any hockey here so I will learn to love it!