The time would have been around 6pm. The final spots of daylight were fading quickly into the surrounding buildings. The sun had been kissing the horizon when we left the guest stadium in Bornos, but that had changed quickly in the bus ride back through the foothills of the Cordilleras Béticas. In the shadow of the Chapín, my two interviewees led me to an innocuous family bar.
A less than chivalrous design brought to you by somebody who is clearly a Denver Broncos fan (NFL in case you were wondering). We cannot say we are fans of the…. theme of this Aufkleber, but the colours contrast well in spite of its vulgarity. Moreover, it is interesting to observe fans of teams, clubs and franchises in other sports taking inspiration from Football fan groups and adapting their practices to their own needs. We at FBTG have previously made the point that far from seeing themselves as culturally superior (as many outsiders like to claim), US citizens who follow team sports often display an alacrity to “copy” (for lack of a better word) fan customs they observe in stadia around the world. NFL fans creating Football-Ultra style stickers and posting them around your city is perhaps a good example of this.
Not wanting to waste more money on the metro, I bet with myself that I could make it back from the office to my home where I would be working for the rest of the day in time for my next meeting. The emergency dash to the HR office had taken care of my immediate concern with time to spare, so I decided to walk back from the centre of town towards my flat, snaking my way through El Born district. But in spite of my haste, one shop window still caught my eye and stopped me in my tracks.
It’s raining outside, so I guess I’m not jogging tonight. Perhaps I’ll do some writing instead. But it’s tricky; has there been anything worth writing about in the world of Football recently?
Of course I’m being facetious. The European Super League proposal involving 12 big names in European club Football breaking away from their national Football associations and UEFA entirely that was pitched early last week was so outrageous that it even got people who don’t usually talk about Football talking about Football. Yet as quickly as the idea raised its head, it got shot in the neck by a horde of arrows fired from several million bows disguised as Social Media platforms. So quick, so clear and so vociferous was the public reaction at this concept that one by one the 6 English-based clubs implicated in the cartel (the appropriate name for this posse) all announced their subsequent withdrawal from the league in the matter of days. Now, the concept hangs as limp as a used piñata.
We’ve never written about Romanian Football nor even visited the country, but we sure as hell would love to. This design is a little unorthodox but still with a lot of appeal and comes courtesy of fans of CSA Steaua Bucuresti – the best supported team in the country by a country mile.
So today a sign I saw down a backstreet in town advertising some single digit deals inside the adjacent low-rent clothing store caught my attention. Remembering that I needed a couple new sweaters, I stopped walking and took a look inside to see if I could find a sweet deal for a new chunky jumper to wear while working from home in the evenings. Among a hell of a lot of trash, I was surprised to find this masterpiece crammed onto the bargain rail.
One feature common to many cities across Catalonia is their “Rambla” – a surprisingly complex concept to describe when you stop and think about it. It is little more than a straight road (more or less), usually lined with trees either side that is located relatively centrally in the town in question. A suitable English translation could be something like “avenue” or “promenade”, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
Seen in Seville. If Delije is a name you are unfamiliar with for any reason, it is perhaps time to do your homework. Start on Youtube.
