While we travelled through Greece and Turkey last fall, I developed a strong affection for football, or soccer, as we call it in the north of the new world. Walking through towns while a game was being played you could feel the timbre of the match, the momentum swings, calls, plays and goals just by listening to the people watching in their shops, cafes and bars. And of course, each shop, cafe or bar had a TV on playing the game. An incredible, shared social atmosphere surrounded the watching of each game.
At the same time I read Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World: An unlikely theory of globalization, a Christmas present from my mom. Foer professes his undying love to one team and one team only: Barcelona. The Barcelona motto is El Barça és més que un club (Barça is more than a club). They represent more than a football team, they represent the dream of the catalan people. Wikipedia has an excellent summary of the history of Barca and the origins of its widespread appeal and loyalty, including its role as a hub of resistance to the fascist Franco government.
Barcelona were fantastic to watch and I found I could get behind that. Barca played like no other team. Their game flowed. They attacked with speed and grace. They took risks and trusted in the talent and skills of their players, not in the tactics of a system. It also didn't hurt that they boasted the most gifted player and playmaker in the world: Ronaldinho. The man does things with a football that other players have never considered. (Just listen to the English commentators as he scores against Chelsea (.wmv, half-way through).
But upon arriving back in the land of soccer, watching Barcelona matches became an exercise in frustration. They simply were not available on any channels except the specialty satellite channels subscribed to by bars. I tried to watch a few matches but found my enthusiasm wavering, especially as the huge UEFA Champions League showdown with Chelsea, the grudge match with the team that knocked Barca from the Champions League last year, approached. I wanted to watch but didn't want to hang out by myself in an obscure bar with strangers. I checked the listings of the local sports networks and found nothing, not even a mention of the game that would attract over 50 million viewers worldwide.
Then I discovered Google Video and the wonderful piracy of Barcelona vs. Chelsea, 1st match - the complete game, available in small size, wonderful resolution and complete illegality. I feel as if the place-shifting and time-shifting potential that the web promises has finally been, in a small way, explored. I'm still looking for the 2nd match. It hasn't appeared on Google Video yet. But when it does it will be my transatlantic window onto the beautiful game.
Posted by James Sherrett at March 20, 2006 01:56 PM