Fútbooooool

Today I went to a soccer game!!! with Ana, José, their father, and their uncle. It was so much fun! Almeria beat Levante (from Valencia) 2 to 1. Almeria scored in the first 2 minutes, but Levante scored in the very last minute. This is the first year that Almeria has become a division 1 soccer team playing teams like Real Madrid and FCBarcelona. They are ranked in the middle while Levante is the last. Tickets were sold out, but fortunately I didn't even have to buy mine! I got to use someone's season tickets....not sure exactly who.....

It was interesting to see people eating their sunflower seeds (of course), bocadillos, and old men smoking cigars. Because there are always so many games going on at the same time, it's not uncommon to see men with headphones listening to another game at the same time.
Almeria plays in the Stadium of the Mediterranean Games, which were held here in Almeria back in 2005. There is also a track around the soccer field as you can see. The stadium holds 22,ooo and the seats all have backs. So much more comfortable! I like soccer games - they last just the right amount of time, not too long and not too short. American football games can get loooong....and uncomfortable.

Here is Ana sportin' her Almeria soccer scarf...

So I realized just how much I miss sports, team sports that is. Running and swimming just isn't cutting it for me. I have always been on an intramural team, either basketball and/or volleyball. I saw some dudes playing a basketball game the other day and I felt like joining them! I really wanted to play. Also, I've always gone to watch BYU or EAC football, baseball, volleyball, or basketball games. I really miss that. So it was good to actually go see a real soccer game here in Spain - too good! I even miss watching games on tv. Someone please tell me what is going on with March Madness!! I feel so out of the loop....

Check it out, so Daylight Savings time changed here in Spain today. So I knew about it for like weeks, but wouldn't you know, I totally forgot to change my clock ahead. So instead of being early for church like I was back in October, I was late. Oops! It's nice to have the sun out so late though. It doesn't get pitch black until about 9 pm. I love it.

Ok, so the Spanish are crazy about soccer. They dedicate a pretty good chunk to it in the newspaper. I decided to count the number of pages one day....there is 17 whole pages dedicated to soccer. That proves just how popular soccer is!