Spain, Soccer, and The Lucky Jersey

Call me un-American but I've never really understood the appeal about football. It's not that I hate or don't like football considering in high school most of my Friday nights were spent watching games and in college I attended my fair share of tailgates. But for me football games have always been more about the social aspect. It was the spending times with friends that I enjoyed more so than actually watching the game. 

Soccer on the other hand, that is my sport. After moving to Tennessee I took up soccer and played for ten years. I certainly was never an all star player but I just loved the sport. I miss playing so much and though there are adult leagues, I unfortunately just don't have the time to join. And I mean I really don't have the time because I move to Laos in just a short little while and the season doesn't start until after I move. (But I guess I can't complain because well i'm moving to LAOS!!)

Thankfully I have the World Cup to satisfy my need for more soccer in my life. The World Cup kicks off tomorrow with Brazil vs. Croatia and though you can definitely bet that I will be watching (and not cheering for Brazil, I don't have anything personally against them, I just don't want them to win.. again..) the match I've been waiting for is on Friday, Spain vs. The Netherlands. You can also bet that I will be watching every second Spain is on that field, hopefully cheering and yelling La Furia Roja through another victory. And just in case I will also be wearing my lucky jersey, a knockoff Andres Iniesta jersey I bought at a tourist shop. 

I wore the jersey every time I went out to watch the Euro 2012 Championship, and I didn't wash the jersey once while I was there. No, not because I am superstitious or gross but a friend had told me her horror story about how her jersey got washed and the red stained all her other clothes, so I waited until I was back home and could wash the jersey by itself. Despite the fact that the jersey REEKED (I sealed it up in its own bag when I traveled home) it led Spain to victory. Okay maybe it was the team's awesome soccer skills but they never lost a game while I was wearing that jersey, so it must have some luck in it. 

I hope you will be watching the World Cup along with me even if you aren't a huge soccer fan. I feel like big sporting events like this are always fun whether you are really into the sport or not. And if you aren't a big soccer fan and aren't sure who to cheer for (pick spain *cough cough*) here is a little BuzzFeed quiz to help you figure it out. Also, follow me on Twitter to get my full World Cup commentary! 

¡VIVA ESPAÑA!