La Roja: A Love Story

We are in the thick of the World Cup, the only time in 4 years that Americans seem to even care about the sport, and so it comes as no surprise that I am frequently asked how I grew interested in the sport, and why, of all teams, I support Spain.

And I totally get it. I am not, upon first impression and later admission, someone who seems to care about sports at all. Being from San Diego, it's not like our home teams were something to brag about--sorry to say, please don't revoke my membership. I have never been an athlete and only played sports when they were required of us during P.E. classes in school. I never participate in office pools, can't remember the last time I went to a football/basketball/baseball game, and generally have no idea what is going on in American sports.

So when Le Roja steps onto the pitch, it seems the oddest thing in the world that I would be glued to a TV, jersey on, and ready to yell at every dive or celebrate every goal. I was so excited for the World Cup, I made a schedule of the matches and put them into my calendar. I even made a bracket, for crying out loud. On my social media outlets, I have not tried to hide how much I was anticipating the start of this tournament.

But is my love of the beautiful game merely affectation? A desire to separate myself from my American upbringing and claim rank with the rest of the world where football–the game of football–is the most popular sport? To be "different" from my peers? Is it because soccer/football players are "so hot?"

Tapas & Spain's first match of the
World Cup 2014.

And what about my preferences for club Real Madrid and country Spain? Many people will say that it's easy to love Spain's national team or that Real Madrid is an easy choice--they are champions, they are on top of the game, and doesn't everyone like to win? It's easy to support a team when they give you bragging rights, when they serve up championships like cake, when you get to ride those feel-good vibes of victory and success.

But the answer to these two questions are much simpler than that.

It was 2005 and I took my first flight into Europe--to Paris of all places--to meet my sister who was working abroad in Spain. After a trying few days in France, we made it to Madrid, where she was living. And it was in this beautiful country and this wonderful city, that I was...initiated, in the best possible way, to football.

And it was different than how I had seen the game played in the US, and the just die hard passion of the fans overwhelmed me. It was intoxicating to get caught up in the frenetic energy of the sport and the players and the fans. And the game, the game was simply beautiful. As cliche as it may sound, there really isn't another world that can adequately describe everything that the sport is. It was stunning to see.

Being in Madrid at the time, and with a certain forceful and insistent crowd, it was an easy choice to support Real Madrid. But if I had made my selection not based on the purest of intentions, then my decision to continue to support that team, even in the many years that have passed since I last step foot in that city, stems from the gratitude and the memory of what that city gave to me, what that country showed me, that first time I ventured into Europe.

That said, the last several years have been spectacular to witness as a fan of La Furia Roja. I have seen this "golden generation," this dynasty of kings, stamp their dominance of the game across the globe, have seen them seal their destinies under the weight of trophies, have seen them celebrate their victories in clouds of confetti. And more than that, what they have brought to the game is nothing short of spectacular.

And now that they are leaving the World Cup--the defending champions exiting at the group stage--there is talk about what this means for the team moving forward, about the defeat of tiki taka, of the end of an era. As a fan, it has been nothing short of heart-wrenching to see La Roja play like they did, because I knew they were capable of so so so much more. It wasn't supposed to end this way for them. It was tragic in every sense of the word. The only bright spot was today's final match against Australia, where we finally got a glimpse of what they were able to do. Some may say, a spark of their former selves.

But putting off all the questions about the future for La Roja, today's match was all about giving a proper send off for these players, this incredible group of athletes who have defined world-class soccer/football for this generation. Emotions of a different sort ran high this match, and for good reason. Because it wasn't just that Spain leaving the World Cup much sooner than anticipated, but because so many of these very players would never again play for Spain, would never step foot again on a pitch at the World Cup. After dominating the field, literally, for so many years, this roster of players would ever be seen together as a team again. In that respect only, it was an end of an era.

David Villa, for example, played his last match of his life for Spain, retiring from the international play, and after scoring Spain's first goal of the tournament, left the pitch in tears.

            

 

Many people, I know, are happy with Spain's loss. They want a new game, a new team at the top, and I completely understand that. Will them losing the World Cup make a difference in my support for them? Not at all. Now that Spain once again have something to prove, I believe this is a great opportunity for their growth. I am looking forward to the next Euro Cup.

In the meantime, I am just so grateful that I have been able to witness La Roja's greatness these last several years. They are a team that holds so much significance for me, and I support them with great affection. This is not the end--definitely not the end of an era--but a new beginning.

For me, they will always be kings. Gracias Por Todo. VIVA LA FURIA ROJA!

Favorite Things: May

I'm back with a new series here on M & M: my monthly favorite things. Basically I will give a list of my list of favorite things of the month in a variety of categories. For May I experimented a lot with new products, especially for skin and makeup not only because of the change in seasons, but because I've been trying to find more products to replace my Korean ones. If you notice, there's not a book category as I'll be doing that separately :) Here we go...

Kpop Corner #2: Running Man

For this installment of the Kpop Corner, I thought I'd bring you a much loved, and personal favorite, genre of the Korean entertainment line-up: the variety show. In the US, I'm not sure we have an equivalent type of show--one the combines "reality" type programming that is non-survival, non-marriage binding, non-7 strangers picked to live in a house, with comedic situations. Although Korean variety shows don't send people home every week, they don't abandon their cast naked and alone in remote parts of the world, they also are not a game show in a traditional sense (although there are certainly games involved). Let me put this a different way.

Korean variety shows typically have a set cast and often have "guest" stars join them each week. The show, is both real and scripted. The producers will structure and plan for certain things to happen, whether it be assigning missions/challenges to the cast or setting up a ridiculous situation, but the best variety shows rely not on the schemes that the producers cook up, but on the comedic timing and relationships of its cast.

An example of a popular variety show is Running Man, not to be confused with the popular 80's dance step. In this variety show, which was initially billed as "urban action variety," the cast is met with a series of challenges that they must complete in order to obtain final victory--whether as the last person standing, winning a prize, or just plain old bragging rights.

In this clip, a simple game of rock paper scissors is anything but, with the losing team being launched in the air and into a swimming pool via a catapult contraption, but like all competitions on Running Man, it's all in the spirit of good fun.


[EngSub] Running Man Ep.147 Part 1_2 (Kim Soo... by movie-trailers4you

But the highlight of Running Man has to be the "name tag ripping game," a hilarious adult version of "hide and go seek" meets "capture the flag," which involves battling members of opposite teams to rip off their name tag attached to the back of their shirts in order to get the "out" of the game.


These are shows that make you laugh, and sometimes cry, as you grow increasingly attached to the cast members with each passing week. Watching the cast and their antics, seeing what kind of hilarious situations they find themselves in each week, and what kind of games they'll play, is worth watching. And, I don't know about you, but I would love to participate in Running Man's games! In short, it's a damn good time.

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The Comeback 2014

Things have changed since I started this blog as a way to sort out all that I was mentally and emotionally going through in the wake of returning to America & attempting to be an adult. I no longer have this crippling worry about fitting in or then over-compensate for my anxiety. And while I still think about Seoul from time to time, it is not with that deep longing and heartache as if I might have made a wrong decision in returning home. I am mostly a functioning adult with my mind firmly set in the present and near future.

All in all, things are good.

And so I feel like I'm in a good space to return to the blogging world. I know this blog has been neglected for most of this year, largely due to the fact that instead of blogging, I've been journaling. I didn't make any firm resolutions this year, but one thing that I wanted to get in the habit of is journaling more often. I like the idea of me writing books about my life--if only for me and to be read by me. As I get older, I've found that my memory isn't as dependable as it once was, and that I being able to reference an event or a time in my life in my journals is useful in keeping my mind right. It's also nice to revisit with myself from ages past, and I think it's also useful in seeing what personal developments, if any, I've made. I know that I could also do that with a blog, and have quite often done so in the past, but as a blog is, by definition, a public thing, I am not always forthcoming on my posts, and sometimes what's needed in a moment isn't a well-planned and executed blog post but a long rambling tirade of emotions that can happen in the privacy of your journal. I have little doubt that my journaling this year has helped me see my life in certain ways and focus my attention on the things I wanted to change.

So now that I'm in a much better place than I was last year, consider this my comeback. I've thought of a lot of different things of this blog during my hiatus, and I'm excited to get to them.