Semana de pasion

Remarkably, Kate is now off to London. She took off Friday morning for a girls' weekend with Sharrolyn they had planned long before the forecast told of Hurricane Barsotti. After much hemming and hawing most of Thursday, and learning they would lose much of the money they spent on airfare and hotels, they decided to go ahead with their plan... even if they are still a bit tired from last week.

As for me, I am hanging here in Barca this weekend. I was planning to hop a train to San Sebastian for a little beach break, but the weather is actually nicer here than it is there. More importantly, I just couldn't justify leaving smack dab in the middle of "Semana de pasion." What is "Semana de pasion" you ask? Well, ask yourself if I am truly capable of going more than a few posts without talking about soccer and you will have most of your answer.

"Semana de pasion" is what one of the local papers has dubbed this week for F.C. Barcelona soccer fans. Not only does FCB have its two Champions League quarter-final matches within a span of eight days, but sandwiched between those two colossal games against Benfica, is "El Clasico" – Barca's league match against hated rivals Real Madrid tonight here in Barca. FCB and Real Madrid are the two most storied teams in Spanish soccer. So whenever they play each other, it is called "El Clasico." Like college football's Stanford-Cal "Big Game" or Alabama-Auburn's "Iron Bowl," it's never just a game when these two teams play.

As I was trying to decide yesterday I should stay in Barca or head to San Sebastian, one simple fact kept rising to the surface. I can go to San Sebastian anytime as the sand isn't going anywhere. But actually being in Barca for "El Clasico" can only happen once a year.

That being said, this year's "El Clasico" has a bizarre twist. It is, by far, the least important of all three games. FCB has such a commanding lead in the Spanish La Liga standings, that a loss tonight only delays the crown they will undoubtedly soon wear. But the Benfica Champions League games are something entirely different. Winning the Champions League is the big enchilada... or perhaps I should say the big tapa. Barca tied Benfica Tuesday in Portugal in the first leg of the match-up (The teams play two games for this round of the Champions League, one at each team's home stadium. The total score on aggregate decides the winner). That means the second leg Wednesday at Camp Nou, FCB’s home stadium here in Barca, is for all the marbles.

Now I don't have a ticket for tonight's "El Clasico" or Wednesday's pivotal Benfica match, but I will be at the gates outside Camp Nou for both of them, hoping for the best. I mean, after our luck at the Chelsea-Barcelona match... how can I not?