Champions League Final

CÓMO NO TE VOY A QUERER: The city went absolutely nuts for the
European soccer championship held between two rival Madrid teams.

This year, two teams from Madrid competed in the European fútbol championship held in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s safe to say that the local intensity level made Clemson vs. USC seem like a little league softball game. This highly-anticipated match fell right in the middle of finals and was a welcome break from the monotony of studying. The entire week leading up to the championship was all about soccer: everyone on campus wore their team’s uniform, there was constant coverage on the TV and in the newspapers, and my professor even started a classroom chant prior to the start of our exam.

    The rivalry between Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid is fierce and bloody- the city refused to play the game on big screens in the city center for fear of violence between fans. We watched the game in a bar just outside of Real Madrid’s stadium, where there was epic rioting and constant chanting, complete with smoke, broken glass, firecrackers, horn-honking and flag-waving. When Real Madrid tied the game with two minutes left, the bar absolutely erupted with fans tackling each other onto the dirty floor in pure ecstasy, embracing one another like long-lost siblings finally reunited.

RIOT IN CIBELES: The plaza was packed with thousands of out-of-control fans.

     In the end, the odds-on favorite Real Madrid prevailed over the low-budget and clearly jinxed Atlético, and the enraptured fans took to the streets. We then walked alongside thousands of people en route to the Plaza de Cibeles, an iconic square where Real Madrid fans go to celebrate their team’s victories. It was an extremely chaotic scene that the hundreds of police stood no chance of controlling, despite their full-on riot gear. At 6AM, the Real Madrid players returned from Lisbon and paraded through the plaza on their bus, proclaiming their tenth Champions League title. It was truly a night to remember.

ESTADIO BERNABÉU: The celebration in Real Madrid's stadium the day after the win