2 Wins, An Engagement, and Carnival!

Annnnndddd were back. Sorry for the long lay-off, folks. I would say that I’ve been way too busy to write another post, but you and I both know that isn’t the case. If anyone is at fault it is the Internet itself. We FINALLY have wireless in our apartment now. Now you would think it would make posting on our blog easier, but in fact, it makes far more difficult thanks to Barstoolsports.com’s ever expanding empire, surfthechannel.com, and YouTube. I get distracted easily. Not today, though. Here’s what we’ve been up too…

A couple weeks ago we hopped on a train headed south for a little town called Sitges. While at every other time of the year Sitges is known for its beautiful beaches, great food, and its gay-friendly community, in March the city hosts Carnival. Thousands of people flock to Sitges from all over Spain and Europe to stay the weekend or, like us, come for the final night of the festivities.

We decided that we were going to dress up in costumes for the night. After some debate we settled on the “Three Best Friends that Anyone Could Have” trio from the movie, “The Hangover”. I, for whatever reason, chose Allan – the slightly remedial, brother-in-law that gets knocked out by Mike Tyson in the movie. Once I bought the white jeans, a graphic t-shirt, huge sunglasses and man purse I was ready to go. With the Stu (Sheff) and Phil (A-Rob) at my side, my one-man wolf pack had become three and we were ready to take on Carnival. Here’s a picture from before we left:

"How's my hair look? Cool like Phils?"

Too make the night even better; FC Barcelona was playing Arsenal in second part of a home and home series. The winner of the game would advance to the next round. So the first order of business after getting off the train was to find a bar to watch the game. After a little bit of searching we settled at a bar/diner that had an open table.

A little side note – “The Hangover” over here was renamed “El Rescaton de Las Vegas” (Big Hangover in Las Vegas) and I don’t think it was that popular. No one knew who we were. So instead of walking around in this “hilarious” ensemble of costumes, I was walking around in tight white jeans and a man purse in Spain’s most gay-friendly city and Shef, true to his Stu costume, had put black marker on one of his teeth in hopes of giving the illusion he pulled it out. Our teammates that came with us were dressed as Barca players – in hindsight that was probably the way to go.

Anyways, the game was awesome. Barca won 3-1 and advanced to the next round on the back of two Messi goals. One of them was absolutely ridiculous. He received a thru pass from Iniesta and as the goalie was charging him he flicked the ball over the keeper to himself and then volleyed it in. Unreal. On all three of the goals the entire bar went nuts – there were beers flying, high fives connecting and not-connecting, and dancing. It was a great experience.

Messi's "flick"

After the game it was off to Carnival. We settled into a spot along the parade and waited for the floats to come. The floats were pretty extravagant and partiers and dancers accompanied all of them. As the floats stopped in front of us we were allowed to go onto the street and join the festivities and you better believe we hopped in there as soon as we could. After watching many a float pass by, we took a walk further up towards the beginning of the parade. We got to a packed square in the middle of Sitges, got our bearings and decided on heading down to the beach where there was a huge techno rave. It literally was out of a movie. Easily a couple thousand people dancing on the beach in front of a huge stage. After checking the rave out for a little bit we headed back towards the middle of Sitges and spent the rest of the night with some friends roaming around the parade. Despite the apparent “failure” of our costumes, the night was a great time and something we will all never forget.

Part of the Parade!!

We had two games recently, as well. We won both – the first, against the Madrid Black Demons, in a fairly convincing fashion and the second, against the rival Dracs, in a nail biting affair. Calling the Black Demons game a MudBowl would be a drastic understatement. Before the game it had been raining for two straight days in Barcelona and it didn’t let up one bit during the game. Everyone played well, but the defense took advantage of the conditions as we scored twice in the first half and ending the game with a shutout. Final score: Pioners 51 Black Demons 0.

Drenched!!!






Perhaps the best part of the game had nothing to do with football. On our first possession, Andrew threw a bomb to one of our receivers, Sergio, for a touchdown. He then ran off the field and ran up to the stands to propose to his long time girlfriend, Isa, in front of the crowd as "their song" played on the speakers. Andddd she said....YESSS!!!! The refs stopped the extra point to so we could all watch (they were given a heads up). Everyone cheered for the both of them. It was a great moment and we all could not be happier for Sergio. Felicidades!!

Rain or shine!!

The Dracs game was not so easy. We started off great with Andrew capping off a two-play drive to Victor for a touchdown on our first possession. The Dracs countered with a touchdown of their own. It seemed as if we had everything in control at half with a 23-7 lead, however, the Dracs had other ideas. They came out firing and we could not respond. They had a good running back that got loose a few times in the second half for a pair of TDs. The game was not looking promising as the Dracs had all the momentum going into the 4^th quarter. We didn’t lay down, though, our offense started clicking and Andrew conducted the 2 minute drill to a T and it ended with a TD pass to Sheff. It was now the defense’s job to stop the Dracs last attempt. After giving up a few big plays one of our corners, Francis, picked off a post to end the game. Pioners win 29-28! Francis played an unbelievable game as he had another pick earlier in the game. Shef was an absolute warrior out there playing both ways and scoring two touchdowns. In hindsight, we should have played better, but you’re not always going to play your best game. Sometimes you just have to grind out a win and that’s exactly what we did. Great job to all the players and coaches!!

Fire that pigskin!

We are now sitting at 7-0 atop the league standings. We have a bye week this week, but are back in action against Valencia next Saturday. How have we been spending our bye week you ask? Good question. On Tuesday met up with our coach and teammate, Stephane, to watch some live March Madness. Yes, live. Barcelona’s basketball team is in the quarterfinals and we went to the first game of a 5 game series against the Greek team, Panathinaikos. Barca won in a very exciting affair, 83-82. The game, and arena, had a collegiate atmosphere with many fans standing the entire time and singing songs. The game came down to the final few possessions with Panathinaikos missing a last second three to win the game. The refs didn’t seem to have a clue as what was going on in the game. At one point we saw a player from the other team go up to the ref and say, “Please start watching the game.” This was in the 4^th quarter. Both sides were on the wrong end of bad calls so it evened out in the end.

Also, apparently you are allowed to knock the ball off the rim even if its about to go in. At one point a player from Panathinaikos poked his hand through the basket to knock off a ball. That’s not basketball. Figure it out, Euro League. Also, for all you basketball enthusiasts – Ricky Rubio is as average as average gets. Can’t ever see him being a good player in the NBA.

Today, we went to lunch with the some of the offensive linemen. Once we get pictures I will talk about the meal. Maybe the most food I’ve ever eaten in one sitting. This made Thanksgiving look like child's play, but more on that later.

Until then, we will be in the Canary Islands for the weekend. 70 degrees, great beaches and scuba diving – shouldn’t suck. I just hope we can find a place to watch the tournament over there. Ohio State all the way – bet the mortgage. It’s a lock.

Enjoy the weekend!

Pau

Barca Futbol

Well, it's official. The rigorous life of a "professional" athlete has become too much for Paul to keep up with the blog by himself. Who knew that three practices a week could be so demanding? But since he doesn't want to disappoint his 32 followers or the Pullitzer judges which have no doubt kept a keen eye on his Tres Pioners Blog, he has enlisted the help of Andrew and myself. To reduce Paul's overwhelming workload, I will write about our first Barca soccer game and A-Rob wrote about our trip to Sevilla (blogging virtuoso Paul Rice is off this week).

Last week we got discounted Barca soccer tickets through a Barca basketball player, whose wife works with our coach. Coincidently, the three of us watched a Barca basketball game a couple nights before and decided that the Barca basketball jersey we wanted the most was that of Boniface Ndong, the same player who gave us the tickets. Apparently, we might even get to meet our Barca basketball player idol when we go to a Barca basketball game. Move over Ricky Rubio, Boniface Ndong is Barca basketball's next American sensation.

On Saturday, we played the Madrid Osos with their import center from Georgia Tech and journeyman American quarterback whose gut gave off the impression that he has been enjoying donors, paella, and cerveza even more than we have. Fortunately, we started the game off with a bang. On the first play, Paul demolished the running back, the ball popped out, and Willy, our free safety and captain, recovered it and returned it for a touchdown. The running back had to be carried off the field. Despite a few blown coverages by yours truly, the rest of the game followed a similar pattern and we ended up winning in a rout.

The next day, Paul and I went with our coach and two of our teammates, Stephane and Ivan, to one of our favorite local bars to pre-game the raucous environment of a Barca soccer game. Andrew had drank too much water and had to come meet us later. No, seriously. He drank too much water and got a stomach ache.

We were all excited for the game because Barca was on a bit of a slump over the last two games. In its last two games, Barca had tied a team in La Liga and then lost to Arsenal in the Champions League. This was quite atypical for such a talented club had caused Barca to fall from number 1 to number 2 in ESPN's rankings of best clubs in the world. Needless to say, they needed a win.

We were eager to get to the game on time and soon joined the throngs of Barca supporters filing into Camp Nou. Unfortunately, we were climbing the stairs to our seats when we heard the crowd go wild. David Villa, a striker for Barcelona, had opened up the game with a goal in the third minute. Our seats were behind one of the goals and near the top of the stadium, but that didn't matter because we were right in the middle of nearly 90,000 screaming Barca fans.

That night Barca was playing Atletico Bilbao, which is a team from the Basque region of Spain. Spain has very strong regional separatist movements. Catalunya and the Basque region are home to two of the strongest. Both have their own languages, traditions, and histories as unique nations. The Basque have long desired for their own country and have even resorted to terrorism to try to achieve it. About half of all Catalonians also want to be a separate country and in some ways, the Barcelona Football Club is an embodiment of that. The club is not owned by individuals, but by all the season ticket holders. They feel the team is a symbol of their Catalunyan pride, their independence, and their superiority to the other regions (especially Madrid). These ideas (and the overwhelming talent of the team) produce a city overflowing with fanatical zeal for their club. Accordingly, the seats of Camp Nou are painted to say with a Catalan phrase that means "More than a club." While I am not sure if Atletico Bilbao is the same way, we sat next to the Bilbao fans who had to be caged into their section. Whether it was for our benefit or theirs, I am not sure.

The game was phenomenal. After Barca took the early lead, Atletico Bilbao came back to tie it just before halftime. They scored on a penalty kick that the British guys sitting behind us described as "utter bollocks" (they also made other hilarious observations, but they might be a little too racy for this forum). While Barca created many chances in the second half, they couldn't find the back of the net until Lionel Messi proved once again how talented he is. The goal was an amazingly quick strike during what appeared to be a routine Barca play.

There were a few differences between American sporting games and the Barca game. First, they can no longer sell alcohol at games because, when drunk, European soccer hooligans get even more rowdy than Oakland Raiders fans. Second, they run out of hot dogs (When the vendor told Paul they were out, a look of utter disbelief came to his face that didn't leave for a full ten minutes). But the whole event was an unforgettable experience and we can't wait until we get to go back to another Barca game. Since coming to Spain, our enthusiasm for soccer has been steadily growing and was thrilling to be amongst so many other fans with such unbridled passion for their team. We now understand their motto of "more than a club."

Sevilla (Part I)

After the numerous requests/suggestions/demands that I post on the blog, I have decided to make my Spain blogging debut detailing our first mini-vacation to Sevilla (Seville for the Americans reading the blog), Spain’s fourth largest city. The Pioners had our first bye week of the season, and the three of us booked a very cheap flight to the southern city of Sevilla, known for its tapas, flamenco dancing, bullfighting, warm weather, and festive attitude.

Our flight departed early on Friday morning, which meant we had to be up and ready to go around 5:30am. With our current sleeping patterns, I managed a solid 1 hour of sleep, and I don’t think the other guys managed much more. Paul seemed to be the most out-of-it, considering he came within inches of being hit by a bus, paid for the wrong ticket after he managed to stumble onto the bus, and neglected to take off his belt while passing through the security gate at the airport, resulting in a pat-down in which he claims he was sexually assaulted by the female security personnel. Despite these mishaps, we managed to not miss our flight, and all of us slept through the 2 hour flight to Sevilla.
Paul, looking extra chipper post pat-down

Upon our arrival, we hailed a cab and headed to the city center where our hostal was located. The weather was awesome. It was sunny, clear blue skies for as far as we could see, and 75 degrees. We dropped our bags off at the hostal, and since it was not time for check-in, we headed out for some exploring. Sheff (John) had been to Sevilla once before, so he knew his way around fairly well. We walked from our hostal to “La Cathedral”, the world’s largest Gothic church, with Christopher Columbus’ tomb, a treasury, and the Giralda Bell Tower, featuring the best views of the city. The church was absolutely enormous, really a little bit too big, practically speaking. See pics below.
Inside the Cathedral Colombus' Tomb (supposedly) being carried by 4 statues.

Views of the city from atop the Tower

After we were finished with La Cathedral, we headed back to the hostal where we met my pseudo cousin/ 3rd sister, Rachel, who teaches English outside of nearby Malaga. She decided to meet us for a day, and then continue on a trip with her friends to Extremadura. It was there we learned that “the French guy” messed up our booking, and we had to switch hostals for the night. So we schlepped our bags to the other hostal, then went out for some more exploring.

Our “exploring” consisted of one, long tapas crawl. Tapas, for those who don’t know, are small portions, like appetizers, of seafood, salads, meat-filled pastries, deep-fried morsels, and so on, served at cafes, bars, and restaurants. We managed to find more than a few crowed ones, inhabited by mainly locals, serving very good tapas and very cold beer. After bouncing around for a few hours, we headed back to the hostal for a late afternoon siesta…. More to follow…

Myself, John, Paul, and Rachel

-Andrew

Bus Rides...

Bus rides. Oh, bus rides. Every athlete – actually just about every human being – has taken them before. The short, quick ride to school. The manageable ride out to Hinkley Lake during Summer Camp at Roxboro Middle School. And even the long, dreadful, marathonesque trips like, say, from Barcelona to Madrid and back all within 26 hours.

As we got on the bus at 5 AM Saturday morning it was quite the peculiar feeling. This was the only time we had seen Barcelona at this hour and not been, well, “having a good time”. While we might have been miserable, our teammates were as happy and alert as ever. Jokes and stories were flying around as if we had just won a game. Once everyone had sucked down the last little but of nicotine they would inhale for the next few hours we were off. Surprisingly enough, I was able to sleep for the first few hours. We made our first stop at a restaurant sometime around mid-morning. Unbeknownst to us at the time, but the Spanish government required that every 3 hours the bus driver has to pull over for a 45 minute break. I don’t care what you think or where you’re from, that rule is flat out ridiculous. You’re telling me that a 5-6 hour bus ride has to become a 7-9 hour bus ride because our bus driver has to stop twice for 45 minutes to light up half a pack and drink coffee? Sheeeeeiiiiitttttttt…

Anyways, after the food stop we were back on the road and it was time to pop in the obligatory pre-game movie – Any Given Sunday! I’ve probably seen AGS at least 50 times, and just about every view came on a bus ride. However, this would be the first time I would see it in Spanish. Let me tell you, the power and intensity of the “Inches Speech” becomes pretty laughable when Al Pacino is speaking Spanish. It was read more like an Iberian love sonnet than the passion fueled, inspirational masterpiece that it is in English. We kept rolling along and before we knew it, it was time for another 45-minute break and food. After eating my pre-made penne and chicken, we were on the road only an hour away from Madrid.

Our opponents were the Madrid Black Demons. We won the game in a blowout, 53-12, scoring most of those points in the first half. Per usual, A-Rob had a big day. He threw for 4 scores and ran a QB sneak for 1. It was quite the aerial assault – every time I looked up from the sidelines there was a ball soaring at least 40 yards down the field to one of our receivers. Shef couldn’t reach paydirt this week, but had a few big catches and some impressive gains. As for me, I had a relatively quiet day. They didn’t run too much and except for one series in the first half, they went 3-and-out. A-rob didn’t even play the second half while Shef and I played sparingly in the 3^rd quarter and sat out the fourth. It provided us a great opportunity to get some of the backups in and get some game time reps. After the game, we showered and got dressed quickly in hopes of getting home before the sun came up.

The beginning of the ride was great. Everyone was happy after the big win and I even fell asleep for a little bit until we stopped for food. After we stuffed our faces with sandwiches and beers, we grabbed a few bottles of wine for the road and got back on the bus. I figured the wine would help me fall asleep, but as I sipped and listened to my iPod it had the opposite effect on me. I could not fall asleep at all. Everyone else had managed to pass out - on the floor, sitting up, leaning forward - all of my teammates were out cold. I managed to get a whole row to myself and laid down to try again. Despite my inability to fall asleep, we were getting closer to home and that brought some comfort. That comfort was immediately extinguished when we stopped for our last 45-minute break - a mere 60 kilometers from Barca. I was furious, Shef was defeated, and A-Rob seemed to find some joy and energy from all this claiming, “Hey, I might get a workout in when we get back at 6 in the morning! What do you guys think?” Our responses were laden with expletives and accompanied by looks of disgust. We wanted on thing and one thing only – our beds.

Finally, we made it back to Bellvitge (where the bus departed), hoped on the metro and rumbled up the three flights to our flat. Just before 7AM on Sunday we collapsed into our beds.

After sleeping for much of the day we got up to go see the Juniors play. Getting a chance to coach them has been one of the best parts about our experience so far. There are some talented kids here and they are all eager to learn more about the game. Even though it is fun watching them do the Oklahoma drill repeatedly, it has been much more rewarding getting to know the kids a little bit. They probably don’t realize it, but were having just as much fun as they are.

We’ve since recovered from the game and are eagerly awaiting our next game tomorrow against the other Madrid team, the Osos. We’ve seen some film on them and they look pretty good, but were rollin right now and I think we can keep it up.

In other news, Barcelona is still awesome. Despite the fact that sidewalks here are literally dog poop minefields, we still very much enjoy walking around the city checking out whatever peeks our interest at the time. Shef and I both got our first Euro-haircuts successfully without any issues. I found a British barbershop with a fetching, young Englishwoman who cut my hair just as I asked while Shef opted for a Turkish 4 euro-a-cut place. Call me old fashioned, but I like speaking the same language as my barber.

Some of the comments have asked for more pictures. You want pictures? Ask and you shall receive. There are some below – mostly just a smorgasbord of photos off my phone. I even threw a few videos up too (hopefully they work). One is a kick off against Valencia and the other is a little highlight tape I made from the Junior game on Sunday. Enjoy!

Rafa just knocked on the door - time for his weekly lecture on Spain’s triumphs and the rest of the world’s shortcomings. Always entertaining.

Adios!

-Pau

Figure it out, America

El Campo de Los Pioners!

Sometimes you have to improvise a bit when you're short a down marker...

Juniors Video

Tackle on KO

Pioners are…still 2-0

We had our first bye week of a possible 17 game season; depending on how far we advance in the European league championship. This season will certainly be more of a marathon than a sprint. During practice last week we had a chance to work more position specific drills and not worry about game planning an opponent. Oh, and we also played soccer - a lot of soccer. There are no true football fields in Spain (to my knowledge) so we train at a soccer facility. Before virtually every practice we rip shots at the unfortunate one who has to play goalie, however, we rarely hit the cage so being goalie isn’t all that bad. This past week we played a game at the beginning of practice. The guys let Shef, A-Rob, and I each score a goal, which, for me, is a highlight of the trip so far. The three of us have really grown an affinity for playing “the beautiful game”- although when we play it, it is far from beautiful. I don’t know if it’s because we are in Europe or want play something other than football, but we are the ones looking to steal a ball from the local team to get a game going – not the other guys on the Pioners. I mean, I felt like I won the World Cup when I scored a goal.

Speaking of soccer, I don’t think we could be in Barcelona at a better time. FC Barcelona is the best team in the world right now – at least that’s what I’m told. It was tough not to believe as we watched the 3-0 victory against Atletico Madrid on Friday night. Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world, had a hat trick. Despite his diminutive stature (5’7”) and young age (23), he was clearly a man amongst boys out there. He literally has reached God-like stature around here. He’s also on a loaded team with David Villa, Xavi, and Andres Iniesta. Needless to say, it’s going to be great watching them all Spring – particularly for the games against Real Madrid.

Alright back to futbol Americano. The President of the Pioners, Joaqin, reserved a table at the Hard Rock for the Super bowl. It was a pretty decent crowd for the game and a good amount of our team showed up. I thought the game lived up to its Super Bowl billing and the team that I’ve been rooting for all playoffs won; a very unusual feeling for a Clevelander. The bar was about half Packers fans, half Steelers fans which provided for a good amount of enthusiasm. Actually, the best two parts of the game had nothing to do with the football. One, we had all the nachos, wings, onion rings, chicken fingers and Budweiser we could handle. And two, instead of commercials, we got…dancers! No joke, every 3^rd or 4^th break four dancers dressed in barely-there, American flag dresses performed to the likes of Britney Spears and Jock Jams throughout the game. The crowd appreciated it more as the night, and beers, progressed. While we didn’t get to see Super Bowl commercials, the food, beers and entertainment sure did make us feel home. Thanks, Joaqin and Stephane for organizing it.

A few more thoughts on the Super Bowl:

s Joe Theisman called the broadcast of the telecast we saw and he needs to do a little less. It sounds like he’s mad at the viewer when one of the players makes a mistake. Why are you yelling at me because Roethlesburger under threw a fade in cover 2 that resulted in a pick? Move over Collinsworth, you have company.

s Jerry Jones making people pay $200 for standing room only outside the stadium? Jerry Jones couldn’t pay me $200 dollars to do that.

s I’ve been battling this question for the past two days…Did I enjoy the halftime show? I’m pretty sure I did. First time since the “wardrobe malfunction”.

Before the game, we took a trip to the History of Catalunya Museum. It’s located near the government palaces that once housed the regional governments and religious buildings of many of the empires that have controlled Barcelona – Romans, Visigoths, Moors, Carolingians, and Catalan. The museum demonstrated the various phases of Barcelona’s history and was very interesting, despite its lack of English exhibits. We entered the museum by taking an elevator down a couple flights of stairs to the excavated Roman ruins that dated back nearly two thousand years from shortly after the city’s founding. After seeing the ruins of an extravagant villa and a sophisticated fish packing plant, we confirmed our suspicions that the Romans were boss-hogs.

Parc Guell is next on the sight-seeing list. Anyways, we have a game in Madrid this weekend, our first true road game (Badalona is a 20 minute drive from here). The bus ride is 8 hours and unfortunately we don’t stay the night in Madrid Friday night. We’ll have to board the bus around 5 AM Saturday morning to get there in time to get dressed and warm up, then immediately following the game we get back on the bus and head home. It will be a long day, but a win will certainly make it seem shorter…I hope.

Other upcoming noteworthy events include my first euro haircut and my first clothing purchase overseas. I’m far more nervous for the haircut – I have a funny feeling that whatever muddled, poorly spoken request I make doesn’t matter – I’m just going to end up with a euro fohawk. If that happens the clothing purchase might as well be some jeggings, a tight graphic v-neck, and a scarf. The guys on the team say we have no style and I guess I can’t argue with them. But, sorry I’m not sorry I got through college with two pairs of jeans – both of them Wranglers.

“I’m a Wrangler guy. Always have been. Always will be.” – Aaron Rodgers in the next Wranglers commercial.

How great would that be? That’s all for now!

Adios!

-Pau

Game Numero Dos!

2-0!

Victory number two for the Pioners! We beat Badalona 46-33 in what turned out to be a fantastic game. Another one for the story books in this historic rivalry for bragging rights in Catalonia. Badalona was a pretty talented team. While Valencia only had imports from Mexico, Badalona had three Americans – a quarterback, tight end, and a running back. The running back didn’t play, but we had our hands full with the other two guys. Both guys were big, tall and good athletes. Early in the game he made a one handed catch in the middle of traffic and almost took it the distance. It was a pretty impressive play. However, that would be his last triumph of the day. A series or two later our free safety, Willy, tackled the TE after another catch in what was a huge collision. Willy is literally half the size of this guy, but true to his fearless style of play he was undaunted by the size difference. The TE played the rest of the half, but didn’t come out for the second half. Big tree fall hard, as they say.

There were plenty of other highlights throughout the game. First, A-Rob had another huge day. The unofficial stat line was 4 Ts passing, 1 running, around 300 yards. Two of those TDs went to Shef, one of which is worthy of note. Amidst our comeback in the 3^rd quarter, Shef caught an 8 yard slant and took it 60 yards to pay dirt leaving a trail of bodies behind him. That wasn’t a typo. Yes, John Sheffield housed a 60-yard slant. You can describe Shef’s game in a number of positive ways, but “rapido” would not be one of them. Perhaps his own words best describe the play: “I just kept running and waiting to get caught. It just didn’t happen. I was so confused. I’ve never housed a slant before in my life!”

I think after that touchdown we went on to score 20 unanswered points and put the game away for good. After being down by a touchdown at half and then giving up a fumble recovery for a touchdown on the first series of the second half, it felt great to rally and come from behind. Victories like this one are always a testament to a team’s character. The game really showed how close everyone is and the trust we have in each other – and no one wanted to lose to Badalona. It is their Harvard/Yale.

Despite the win, we have plenty of things to work on. We gave up a safety on a bad punt snap, a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and had plenty missed tackles/blown coverages on defense. But, remedying those issues after a win is always better than after a loss. Plus, there are few more jovial places in the world than a post-win locker room, especially after beating a rival. The combination of pure joy, high fives, and the singing of fight songs (most of which we need to learn) make for a festive atmosphere.

Also, Saturday nights are always better after a win and this past one was no exception. We met up with a bunch of the guys and hit a few bars/clubs till the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, for my future employment options there were pictures taken. Thanks, Isa (one of our trainers) – if Mark Zuckerburg did not have me already have me by the balls before, he sure does now.

But, don’t worry Mom and Dad we did do some sightseeing this week, too. On Friday night we met up with Teo to grab some pizza and beers, a truly nutritious pre-game meal. After discussing the game plan we took a walk around Barrio Gotico and stopped by Santa Maria del Ma or the “Church of the Sea.” This 14^th century church has more of an older feel and was not as polished as Sagrada. The ceilings are impossibly high and the alter is beautifully simple. We walked in after the sun went down, but I imagine that inside is even more impressive as the natural light shines through the stained glass windows. I’ll definitely make a return trip.

We have really come to appreciate the daily “Menus” at the various restaurants around our neighborhood. For those unfamiliar with a European menu, it is a chosen selection of 1^st plates, 2^nd plates, and deserts for a fixed price. Also, there usually is a drink and bread thrown into the deal. The price is always around 6-10 Euros which is a pretty good deal. Any menu that has paella on it usually means I’m going to eat there. I love paella. It’s everything I love thrown into one dish – shrimp, rice, fish, beef, and mussels. It is a lot like gumbo. It will also be the reason I come back 15 pounds heavier.

I love everything about the dining culture here, except for one thing – there is no complementary water. And if you do ask for water, they give you a little bottle and charge you 1.50 for it. In fact, in stores wine is often cheaper than water – well at least the wine we drink. Other than that, I love the long lunches and dinners filled with wine, tasty food, coffee and good conversation. A far cry from eating at home which at times seems more of a task than something to enjoy.

We’ve had three entries so far and somehow have forgotten to talk about someone who has affected all three of our lives in a significant way. That man is our building manager, Rafa. Standing at generous 5’7”, constantly showing off his 6 toothed smile, and always wearing blue pants and black workmen’s jacket he provides non-stop noise and entertainment. The best part is he doesn’t know a lick of English and has quite the Catalan accent. Understanding him becomes even more difficult because his voice is pretty hoarse (similar to that of the hillbilly from The Waterboy). He loves stopping by to shoot the bull, tell us to take out our trash, and always pokes at Andrew for not knowing any Spanish. He also loves to scream out his window early in the morning at people walking by. He is kind of our rooster in that regard. I’m sure he just wants to make sure everyone is up and ready to take on the day. We appreciate you, Rafa, but just don’t knock on our door before 11 – no one is gonna let you in.

Welp, time to wrap it up. In some other smaller news, we’ve just finished watching every season of The Wire. Great show. Awesome show. I could write a whole separate post about how much I love that show, but for now I’ll just say Omar didn’t deserve to get got like that – never even saw the little guy coming.

I now hate Starbucks more than ever. It’s noisy, hot, overpriced and most important of all – their Internet sucks. If I couldn’t sit by the window and watch all the beautiful women of Barcelona walk by whilst blogging, I wouldn’t go. Thank you women of Barcelona. Thank you so so much. Anyways, you know what today is? It’s the first of the month and that means it’s payday. Another day, another Euro.

Hasta luego!

-Pau

Pics

Blogging is not for the faint of heart which is why I'm posting the pics from this week, not John. Here are they are!















Some of the guys at a club we went to after the game last weekend. Time for a comparison picture...















Yes a little different at face value, but no matter where you go football guys find a way to have a good time.















The field where the Juniors practice. It is essentially the grass-less left-field of a baseball field. These kids show up every Wednesday and Friday, though. They love the game.















Los Tres Pioners belated Christmas card

That's all for now. Our game starts at 4 P.M. local time so that's 10 A.M. for you east coasters and a early 7 A.M. start for you left coasters. Word is the Pagliaro's are hosting a pre-game tailgate via skype starting two hours before the game. Be sure to tune in to the game here...

http://www.pioners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=170&Itemid=109

Next post coming after the game.

-Pau

First Game!

Pioners Win!!!!

So on Saturday we beat Valencia in a blowout. Everyone played well, but actually could’ve played better. The final score was 40 – 14.Playing football again reminded me why I love the game so much. It’s just so much damn fun, however football here is very different than the football I know back home, mainly because a flag flies every time the quarterback throws a pass over 15 yards, a play lasts longer than 5 seconds, or the ref just wants some attention. I really can’t complain, though. It certainly helped us out in some cases. Our running game was solid too and I don’t think we had one offensive holding call the entire game. At the end of the day the game was a huge success. We won, no one got hurt, and Shef can tackle! He played both ways most of the game – he clearly earned his Euros. He caught a touchdown, as well.

A-Rob played lights out. Despite a slow start by the offense, I think he threw for three T’s and ran for two. Not a bad day at the office. Plus, it looked like the guys were really buying in to what he was calling (he is the offensive coordinator – every QB’s dream).

As for me, I felt like I played well. I had some tackles (even a couple hitsticks), some pass break ups and, of course, a blown coverage or two. Communication on the field can be problematic, but that’s something we can fix. Overall, I was impressed with our team’s skill and focus. It’s nice to see that the game is important to these guys. I’ve heard that it isn’t always that way in Europe. While some things about football here are completely different, their reasons for playing are the same – hit some dudes, enjoy the company of their teammates, and to win.

Perhaps, the best part of Saturday was the simple fact that we won. I just love winning. I could go on forever about why I love it, but I think it’s just better to say that I love it so much because I hate losing more than anything in the world. I don’t think were going to be doing a lot of losing here. The team seems to share my same passion.

Alright, enough of the game. Week number two in Barca included some interesting events/reflections. First of all, I went to see La Sagrada Familia on Friday. When you first see it, the Church looks completely out of place. Amid what seems like a typical Spanish residential neighborhood, it sticks out like a sore thumb. It is one of the most unique structures I have ever seen. Antoni Gaudi, the man with the Sagrada plan, designed the Church in nature’s eyes, which is to say that every last structural and artistic detail can be traced back to something in our natural habitat. Everything from the design of the Church’s columns to the natural light beaming through the stained glass windows shows Gaudi’s devotion to recreating a forest within a Church. The peculiar thing about Sagrada to me was the fact that it is still being built. It doesn’t have the feel of a Notre Dame or any other of the classic European Churches I have been too. While there is plenty of history to the unfinished spectacle, it does not feel weathered or ancient when you walk into it. I’m not going to bore you with the classic touristy pictures I took, but take a look for yourself – plus, I didn’t do anything awesome so there’s no reason to post photos. Google took better pictures than I did, anyways.

The good weather that I mentioned in the past post has faded and now it is cold. Which is unfortunate for me because I did not bring a coat. Apparently, January is cold in Barcelona too. Whoops. I now wear two hoodies when the sun goes down. Despite the temperature, the days are beautiful. I don’t think we’ve had a one cloudy day yet – this is a very different experience for me as growing up in Cleveland provided no sun during the months November, December, January, February, and March (insert bad joke about how much Cleveland sucks – most likely involving something about Lebron leaving us. Nope. Still not bitter about that…Definitely not bitter at all.)

Im sure our parents will be delighted to know that we found less techno-y clubs to stay out at till 7 in the morning. Frankly, the people of Barcelona have mastered how to have a good time. So much so that at any point of the day you can walk into any café or restaurant and just about everyone slugging back beer, wine, or liquor. Literally, any time. It doesn’t look like the desperate kind of drinking though, in fact, I imagine the thought process is something like this:

“It’s 9 AM. I’m eating a delicious chocolate croissant right now. What could make this experience better? Oh! A beer definitely would. But wait, I have to go to work so I shouldn’t drink now. A ha! I have scheduled a nap at 3 o’clock. Make it two beers. “

Andrew has helped us discover the wonderful world of Doners. He ate them a lot when he played in Germany this past Summer. Basically, they are pitas filled with veggys and lamb/chicken. To me, they are the closest thing I am going to get to Chipotle -filling, loaded with meat, and incredibly unhealthy. In a country that puts more mayo than meat on their sandwiches, I have really come to appreciate our friends at the Doner place (cant remember the actual name). Thanks Doner dudes.

We have a big game against Badalona this week. It is a huge rivalry and everyone is pretty pumped up about it. They have a couple good imports apparently and they won their first game. They beat us in the preseason so we are out for revenge. Until then we are going to keep living the extraordinarily stressful life of a professional football player in Spain. Waking up. Working out. Eating paella. Eating doners. Drinking wine and discovering Barcelona. I’m not going to post the weekly rendition of “Los Tres Pioners doing awesome things” because I don’t have the program for Shef’s camera so you’ll just have to wait until he does it. But, as you can probably predict, the pictures are pretty awesome.

That’s it for now. I guess I lied about the next blog being shorter, but until I start updating it more often this is what its gonna be. Packers are going to win the Superbowl. Take it to the bank. Adios!

-Pau

Hola!

It is tough to explain my excitement as I was sitting in that terminal on Friday evening thinking about the adventure ahead of me. How was I going to like Barcelona? Was our flat going to be livable? Or better yet could I stand another 6 months living with John Sheffield in that flat? How am I going to communicate with people? How have I taken Spanish for a combined 7 1/2 years and still remained utterly incompetent? These were just a few of the questions swirling around my head as my British Airways flight took off at 6:10 P.M. January 7th, 2011.

I'm horrible at sleeping on planes (or any other moving object) so the next 20 hours were pretty miserable. I landed in London at 5:20 local time and had a two hour layover, most of which was navigating the semi-metropolis that is Heathrow Airport. Finally I settled into my gate after going through security, again! As I boarded the flight to Barca I was ecstatic and even more so upon our approach to the city. In my delirious state the beaches and sun looked glorious - I almost thought I was landing in PCB for another Spring Break. This trip would be a Spring Break, but not exactly the type I have grown used too (probably a good thing).

After landing it took a little longer than expected to get my bag, but I'm not complaining. Shef just got his bag yesterday so we've been sharing clothes - just like old times! I met Alex (the GM), Teo (the Coach), and Joaquin (the President) outside the baggage claim and received a Pioners shirt, hoody and hat. I was official. After a little chit-chat, Shef arrived and we were on our way to the flat. We were told that Andrew was landing later so Teo and Alex would return to pick him up at 5.

As Shef and I rode in Alex's car, we couldn't believe that this was actually happening. After 6 months of waiting and anticipation, we were finally here to live and play football. Awesome. We tried to speak Spanish with our "jefes" (bosses) and while it was ugly I think they appreciated our attempts. As we arrived at our flat we noticed how vibrant the area was and after walking around for a bit, how close it was to Las Ramblas - essentially the center of Barcelona. We would soon discover that our flat is huge! It's fully furnished and despite a few difficulties at first (temperamental toilet, no hot water, and a broken fridge - all of which have been remedied by now) it is starting to feel like a home. Here are some pictures of us doing awesome things in a our flat:
















Casually reading in my bedroom


















Andrew showing off his shopping list
















First time ever hanging clothes. Wanted to take all the necessary precautions












Rough practice. Didn't even shower



















The bidet is a versatile bathroom amenity

Man, those were awesome.

Around 10, Teo picked us up and we went out to dinner at a great restaurant just off Las Ramblas called La Fonda. We drank wine, ate paella, and talked about football, family and Barcelona. It was a great way to start the night, but all that Paella was starting to drag me down so I mentioned that we should grab some coffee on the way to the first bar. Andrew ordered espressos for all and wow, were they strong! Just smelling the stuff woke me up. Needless to say, I finished the cup and were were on our way. The first stop was "La Ovella Negra", or The Black Sheep. It was on a quiet street in El Raval (our side of Las Ramblas), but inside was anything but. It is a Barca college bar with great Sangria and plenty of tables to sit, drink and talk. We stayed for 2 pitchers of Sangria and then it was off to Attic. Well, what to say about Attic? First, Holy Techno! We walked in and to say it made Saturday night Toads seem soft would be a great understatement. You're entire body literally vibrated with the bass. The club was pretty full but not so that it was impossible to move. We went into the back room where Carlos, one of our teammates was bar-tending. We got some drinks and started to relax a bit. We ended up staying there for a good 3 hours and left at 5-5:30 - early by Barcelona standards. Once Dude Lady Gaga got on the stage and started strutting his stuff, we decided that it was time to go. Not bad for our first night in Barca.

Sunday was a little bit slower and gave us some time to rest. We met Alex in the evening and he showed us where our gym was and introduced us to another teammate, Rafa. Rafa took us to his apartment and we watched the NFL wildcard games with him, Carlos, and Victor (WR on the team). The games were fun to watch even though we were all pretty tired. We were hoping to hear the Spanish color commentators scream "GOOOLLLLLLL" when someone scored, but it was just an emphatic "Touchdowwnnn", either way it's still better than Chris Collinsworth. Anything is better than Chris Collinsworth. After we went home and tried to go to sleep still fighting jet lag.

Monday was the first practice. It was great to get out there in pads and move around again. It was also clear that I hadn't put on pads in 14 months. Shocker. Luckily we have a two weeks until our first game and since there aren't many subs we get a lot of reps so that should help getting back into football shape. The guys on the team are great. The first thing you have to understand about European football is that these guys aren't getting paid, they are simply playing because they love the game. They are also incredibly receptive to coaching and suggestions. Perhaps most importantly, they accepted us right away and made us feel apart of the team. The whole organization is great to be around on and off the field - we clearly have come into a great situation here.

It's refreshing to see that a football team here is essentially the same as any football team in America. Maybe the talent is not on par with schools back West, but the dynamic is very similar. Guys are ragging on each other, having fun and just enjoying being around each other. Football is tough, but it is also supposed to be fun and The Pioners have clearly mastered that concept.

Barcelona also comes with its set of challenges. Obviously, the language barrier is first, but there are far more exciting issues. For example, as we were getting on the Metro to go help with the Junior ballers Shef got pickpocketed. And to his credit he caught the guy as he swiped his wallet and pushed him against the half closed the door. Luckily for the thief he was able to get off the train before Shef's fully cocked fist was about to meet his nose. All is well that ends well, though, Shef got his wallet back and there was no serious altercation. It was bound to happen at some point and to be honest, it wont be the last time. The three of us have American written all over us wherever we go - we're all at least 6'2", stockier than just about everyone, and carry "Yale Football" bags on the Metro. Cant win em all.

Getting lost in the Red Light district also provided us with some interesting situations. Monday, we decided to walk about a bit. We made it down the harbor and then back up to where we live. On the way back it started getting dark and host of characters began their night shift. In a city full of vices we were offered just about every single one in a span of two blocks. We kindly refused and eventually found our way home. Again, it doesn't help to look as American as we do sometimes.

Personally, I am losing the "Battle de Enchufe", which is to say that every time I try to plug something in it blows up, so I have given those duties to Shef or Andrew from here on out. I've already fried our college radio (iPod player) and my Xbox power cord. For as long as I am here I will not plug anything in, even if I buy some appliance here in Spain.

We hope to keep the blog going for as long as we are here. We don't have internet in our flat which makes it a little more difficult, but we'll manage somehow. Also, they won't be this long so if you have made through this entire poorly written post I thank you and promise to keep it shorter in the future. Okay, time for a siesta. Adios!

-Pau