Barca vs Getafe, February 7th

One of the greatest experiences of my life. I cannot even begin to explain how much of an impact this game had on my sanity/lifetime experience. I have been playing soccer ever since I was four years old and, to be completely honest, it was the first love of my life. For the better part of my twenty years on this planet, I have eaten, bled, drank, cried, and breathed soccer every single day. That being the case, I am one of the few “true” soccer fans within the states and have been waiting for a moment like this for nearly fifteen years. People have always told me that “watching a football match in stadiums like Camp Nou, San Siro, Wembley, and Santiago Bernabeu are unlike anything else.” I knew that the experience was going to be something special but I didn’t truly appreciate it until now…
There is something about 80,000 individuals being in the same place at once and experiencing the same environment. I don’t know how to explain it but I will do my best to try…it felt as if everybody, both on and off the pitch, were linked as one. When Messi scored, we felt his excitement. When Iniesta was harshly fouled, we felt the frustration and anger that the players on FC Barcelona felt. And, when Getafe scored their “consolation goal,” the fans were able to feel the disappointment that Valdés felt when he was unable to keep his clean sheet for the match. I do not know how anybody could not feel that aura/atmosphere within that stadium. For that reason, I have already decided that I am attending another game in the near future! I enjoyed myself so much that I need to go back and experience a truly competitive match within La Liga (hopefully I will get to see Barcelona play Villarreal).