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