04/26/24
March 15, 2004
Bayern Munich have offered Real Madrid a charity match to benefit the victims of last weeks train bombings. Bayern want the match to take place as soon as possible at the Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. At a time when the front page of SpoFi is littered with violence and ego (of the athletes, not the members), it's nice to see a professional organization act...professional.
posted by Ufez Jones to soccer at 02:31 PM - 12 comments
[This is good]
posted by billsaysthis at 04:49 PM on March 15, 2004
Indeed, dng. It's funny that for all of the reputation for hooliganism and whatnot, soccer's one of the few int'l sports that can pull something like this off successfully. That's not to snark on other sports as most athletes today in all sports do some kind of charity work and have foundations and whatnot. But the symbolism on an international level is probably best represented by the most popular sport in the world. Btw, I'm still hoping to catch these guys. If I make it, I'll do a column with some pictures and whatnot.
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:51 PM on March 15, 2004
This is a great gesture by Bayern and they deserve credit for it. We had minute's silences at all games in England at the weekend. AFAIK, all were impeccably observed. When I see some of the comments being made on MeFi with regard to the election results in Spain, it makes me wonder who exactly are the hooligans?
posted by squealy at 05:36 PM on March 15, 2004
My trip to Euro 2004 is starting to look more dangerous than I thought. Last I checked, Portugal was just as much an ally as Spain was.
posted by usfbull at 07:29 PM on March 15, 2004
usfbull, have you considered doing a column for SpoFi about your experiences at Euro 2004? I think it'd make for interesting reading.
posted by squealy at 03:41 AM on March 16, 2004
usfbull, you might want to go as a Canadian.
posted by worldcup2002 at 12:11 PM on March 16, 2004
We were joking about that. One of my friends recommended we emblazon our luggage with Canadian flag and Maple Leaf stickers. And I could certainly try to chronicle this trip, but I must confess that this will clearly be the largest football stage I will attend to this date. My previous appearances were at college and high school games. Three of my four travelling companions are pretty diehard and play on club teams so I'm looking forward to learning a lot. Not to mention, I have to believe the atmosphere is incomparable to anything stateside.
posted by usfbull at 12:45 PM on March 16, 2004
FWIW, usfbull, I was in the Provence region of France during the final two rounds of the WC when they hosted and won, and it is indescribable. Unfortunately, I didn't get to attend any games, but still, yeah, the atmosphere is definitely incomparable to anything stateside.
posted by Ufez Jones at 12:47 PM on March 16, 2004
usfbull: I back squealy. You have got to blog your Euro experience, man. Find a Netcafe next to the pub or something, and do a little SpoFi (or Locker Room) post everyday. It will be followed closely, I'm sure. Have a great time!
posted by worldcup2002 at 04:28 PM on March 16, 2004
For what it is worth, Jordan and the Bulls did something like this in Miami very shortly after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and tons of kids who had lost their homes were given free tickets. Jordan only played about 15-20 minutes, but those kids were fans forever (and lots of money was raised for rebuilding.)
posted by tieguy at 08:02 AM on March 17, 2004
Any news on whether this charity match will be played?
posted by billsaysthis at 11:02 AM on March 17, 2004
When the football didn't matter.