Travel for Pennies

I say that Football in Spain comes in second behind Catholicism as Spain’s religion. It can be said that, in Madrid, Atletico Madrid comes so close behind the real Madrid as the capital’s favorite sporting attraction. Since I get to report on most the the sports in Madrid, I get put up in one of the five star Madrid hotels, which I must admit comes in third. So, while the history of Real Madrid is one of domestic domination and European championships that cross city neighbors Atletico Madrid is one of the barren trophy cabinets of nearly men. It has become the commonality of amazing capitulations from winning positions that the club and the fans are known as ‘The sufferer’s’.

If they are that poor on the football field, and no ones been able to show me evidence to the contrary, I wonder what drives over 55,000 people to show up every single week, with all the congested city traffic? The party atmosphere of the Rio carnival, plus the passion of a political rally and I still can not come up with the intensity that is generated an Atletico Madrid matchdays. All the way from devout Atletico supports, which like to be called the ‘Ultra’ and also populate the southern end of the stadium I might add, there comes a 3 hours pleasure assault on all six senses. The only respite from this amazing barrage of noise is when the teams change ends at half time.

As in the rest of Spain, on bars well over 3 kilometers away from Atletico, the fans are preparing for another great tradition: lunch. it’s a two hour marathon of over five different Spanish dishes washed down with tons of beer and wine during which players of a bygone era are remembered.

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