Fútbol
Football
or Fútbol...
I am currently teaching English in a small town located in the region of Castilla-La Mancha, Spain where I have been learning what fútbol really means, to my town and to Spain.
When heard out loud football and fútbol sound the same, but between the United States and Spain, the sport of football and fútbol are two completely different things. One thing that is the same, is an American’s and a Spaniard’s love for the game. In America, Sundays are for football. The day is spent representing your favorite team and enjoying some buffalo chicken dip or chili as you cheer, holler and scream at the tv. The NFL team you are cheering on is normally based on where you live. As for me, being a Chicago Bears fan, I always hold on to the hope that they are gonna win this game, but most of the time I am left disappointed.
But in Spain there is no such thing as American football, only fútbol. In the school, right after the students ask where I am from and how old I am, the next important question that follows is what is my favorite fútbol team, Real Madrid or Barcelona. When I give my answer of ‘Real Madrid’ half the class sighs and half the class cheers. These two teams hold the hearts of the Spaniards and the students pick between the two. In Spain there is a different type of obsession for fútbol compared to what is apparent in America. Fútbol seems to be everyone’s favorite hobby. Everyone plays fútbol, everyone loves fútbol. Seriously, everyone. During the break at school, students rush to play fútbol and during the weekends when kids aren’t playing fútbol they are watching fútbol, going to the town’s fútbol stadium. During the game, fans grab a beer and a bag of sunflower seeds to snack on. The stadium is left with sunflower seeds covering the bleachers.
With my time in my small town I have joined the Women’s fútbol team, Fútbol Femenino, really jumping into the experience of Spanish fútbol. In Spain fútbol is not as popular of a sport for women, as it is for men. At the men’s game the stadium is overflowing, with fans filling the bleachers and standing around the field. At the women’s games the bleachers normally just house the parents of the two teams, but that doesn’t mean the chants arn’t any less rowdy. Many girls slowly stop playing as they grow older and I never see any of the girls playing fútbol at school during the break. The culture around women who play fútbol is very different in Spain. There is defined stereotype and image that women fútbol players are given and what you are expected to be if you play fútbol.
The girls play a tough game, they do not hold back and it can get ruthless out there, easily becoming more of a battle than a game. Many times the whistle is blown because a girl needs a few minutes to recover from throwing her whole body into a collision. With the way they play, it is more likely to suffer a dislocated jaw than an ACL tear.
Every practice I slowly understand and add more and more fútbol Spanish words to my vocabulary. But there are still many time when I have no idea what is going on and I start defending a girl that is suppose to be on my team. Even with the language barrier the girls have been friendly, offering smiles and thumbs up during practice. I am able to pick apart what is going on in a drill or scrimmage. By joining the team I have learned Spain’s love for fútbol and what it is like to step on the field as a women.