Last week a group from Rollins and I took a tour of the Real Madrid Stadium. Before coming to Spain, I was never a huge soccer fan. I knew that Madrid had a good team but I never had any idea the true extent of their passion for the game. The love of the sport that is alive in this city and across Europe is incredible.
On the first weekend in Madrid, Real Madrid received their league win. We watched the game in the city and wanted to see how the locals celebrated. With over 200 million fans, the streets were packed. The main streets were blocked off where there was a huge street celebration. Everyone was singing la canción de la Décima and cheering “HALA MADRID.” It was so much fun to be around all of the liveliness and energy. When the the bus with the team in finally got back to the city, everyone went wild. Without even meaning to, we were out until 4:30 in the morning. I fell in love with Madrid on my second night.
I had no idea how successful the team was until we took the tour of the stadium. In the team’s history they were named the “Best club of the 20th century FIFA trophy,” they have 12 European cups, 2 FIFA Club world cups, 3 Intercontinental Cups, 3 European Super Cups, 33 Ligas, 19 Copas Del Rey, 9 Spanish Super Cups, and several other large titles. It was also impressive to learn more about one of the best players in fútbol history… Cristiano Ronaldo.