I have finally managed to go to a genuine, Real Madrid soccer game. And yes, it was pretty awesome, although the weather that afternoon (mid-30s and very windy with light drizzle of rain on top) did not look promising. However, this didn't end up making much of a difference for us because Santiago Bernabéu is heated, in spite of the fact that it's an open-air stadium. Well, it is partially covered, but still, I was quite surprised to find that I was actually too warm under all the various layers and the thick rain coat I was wearing. Definitely a pleasant surprise.
As for the game itself, what can I say? There's no soccer like good soccer, and this was some good soccer. Madrid ended up beating Español 1-0; it was a fun experience, even though I kind of wanted Español to win. Actually, it's probably more accurate to say that I was hoping Madrid would lose (I'm a Barcelona fan). After a while, it became clear that Madrid was definitely playing a cut above Español. Madrid got their goal early on and then they were able to slow down the pace a little bit. Español, on the other hand, was just unable to put together a coherent attack, and Madrid was perfectly fine with playing defense.
All in all, a rather enjoyable outing. Unfortunately, tickets for FC Real Madrid (the soccer team) are a little more expensive than tickets for FC Real Madrid (the basketball team). Fortunately, Vanderbilt decided that buying our class tickets to a professional soccer game counts as a valuable and enriching cultural experience. Naturally, I'm not one to disagree.
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