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