As I noted on another thread, I was born in Binghamton, NY. As an update, Carter Anthony Edwards was born on 30 Sept, 9 lbs, 22 inches. Healthy and beautiful baby boy. Mom and Dad could use some sleep! Tony
I was born in Nyons, France to a Spanish father and American mother. I grew up in Spain until i was 7 years old until we moved to the US. My whole family are Sevilla supporters and socios, so I was born into Sevilla FC. Everybody's second team was FC Barcelona, we even have family living in Barcelona. I really started to follow Barça in 1982 after the World Cup there in Spain. Of course my favorite years are during the "Dream Team" in the early 90's. I have 4 shirts from different eras and signed by different players including my favorite by Romario. It's sort of lean these past few seasons but imagine if you are a fan of a team like Sevilla or Betis. So there is always an upside
I'm not ashamed of my WNY roots, but if I really liked living there I would still be there. I admit, asking for forgiveness was a poor choice of words. To each their own I guess. As for why I support Barça, I liked the players they had in the early '90s (Romario, Stoichkov, Hagi, Koeman, etc.), as well as the way they played. Living there only cemented why they were my favorite team. As cliched as it may sound, Barça and their relationship with Catalunya is really something special. I've been to the San Siro a few times, the Riazor and the Bernabeu once, and none of it comes close to Camp Nou. I'll stop now. This can go on much longer, and I have a ton of work to do.
The quick profile of yours truly... Name: Rob From Chicago area originally, now living in Des Moines, Iowa (job was here and wife is from the area). Other sports interests: Any Chicago teams (except the White Sox), Iowa State sports and more European soccer (lean toward Juventus and Borussia Dortmund). I actually started following Barca within the last year (though I've followed mainly the MLS Chicago Fire as my hometown team). My church took a missions trip to Barcelona and Vic and as I prepared myself (trying to brush up on my Spanish and learn a few words of Catalan), I discovered FC Barcelona, particularly as they began to cruise through Champions League. I've been hooked ever since, making it a point to get a jersey while I was over there in March. I now visit their web site nearly every day and try to find their games or at least highlights on the tube. Hopefully, the next time I go to Barcelona (maybe in 2005), I can go to Camp Nou for a game.
my profile born in lima peru 1981 started folowing barcelona in 80's peruvian tv would show real and barza games and i couldnt stand real from an early age over time some of my fave players have been bakero zubizarreta guardiola luis enrique puyol de la peña ronaldo romario rivaldo ronaldinho saviola cocu hagi koeman stoitkov
I actually became interested in F.C. Barcelona in 1996 or 97. I was watching NFL (our American Football) on tv when the game cut to commercial. Black screen, a small white Nike swoosh fades in, then fades back out. Samba begins to play. Short, awe-inspiring flashes of this MAD BRAZILIAN going nuts, tearing defense's apart, scoring with a brilliant touch. Gol, fade to black. "Ronaldo 1996 FIFA Player of the Year" Nike swoosh. End. At least, that's how I remember it. I'm pretty sure fellow Americans know what I'm talking about. That was one of the first post-94 WC ads to really attempt to show this part of the world some amazing futbol. It was amazing.
Eh, why not? My name's Jason. I'm 20 years old and a military brat, so I don't really call anyplace home, but I'm currently in Texas attending college. My love of Barca began whn I watched them play Brazil in their centennial match. I had liked Brazil, but was impressed by the Barcelona squad and players. When I moved to Europe, I got to watch them play more often and even got to go to the Nou Camp while I was in Spain for spring break. I picked up a great deal of souvenirs while I was there and got to rub it in the face of my Madrid friend. I try to watch them whenever I can, but it's been few and far between this year.
Hmm, I guess I'll jump in. My name's Alex and I'm 21 years old. I'm a born and raised Queens boy from New York. I actually haven't followed soccer all that long. The only thing I ever knew about soccer was that I'd never root for Manchester United because they were known as the Yankees of English football. Being a die-hard Met fan, that was good enough for me. I followed soccer loosely, checking the MetroStars scores from time to time and Arsenal every now and then just because I liked their Dreamcast jerseys. The World Cup definitely got me more into the sport after watching Korea and the US do so well. But especially watching Korea since I'm Korean, I got hooked and still reminice about watching games at 5am with my whole family. After that I followed Arsenal more closely and am now a pretty big fan, as well as finally becoming a full-time Metros fan. I liked Barcelona because I went to the city a couple summers ago and fell in love with it. I didn't get to go to a match but maybe one day. It's kinda hard to get into Barça more seriously since there's no way for me to watch games, not to mention I hate what management is doing. But if there's a team for me to follow in La Liga, it's definitely the Blaugrana. My other teams and sports are New York Mets baseball, and New York Rangers hockey. Yeah, it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. I used to be a Knick fan, but they traded away Patrick Ewing and I vowed never to be a Knick fan again until Scott Layden gets fired. I'd follow the NFL if football didn't bore me to death. I dunno, something about the sport just doesn't appeal to me.
I'm Marco, 38, born in Lima - Peru. Divorced two years ago. No kids. But during my marriage, the closer to a kid we had was our dog. Well, he is a chow-chow (the most good looking I ever saw) and prodly named Barza. Peeps that ask for his name think he is a she ... it is a good chance to explain to them what Barza means ... how proud we are... how much we love the team ... and what being a Barza fan means even in terms of politics in Spain. Follow Barza since the early 70s ... when Cruyff and Sotil gave Madrid the 5-0. Match showed live back in Peru because Sotil was playing. Covers of the only football mag (Ovacion) showing Hugo with his Barza shirt adorned my bedroom. Afterwards ... as many of you know ... with politics and family involved ... Neeskens took the spot of Sotil. It is obvious that Holland's '74 team made an impact on all of us. Having their top 2 players in Barza ... and one of Peru's most loved ones there, made me look at Barza as the logical team to follow. Since then, I'm a cule to death. Equally as anti-Real Madrid. PS: We will win the UEFA Cup this year.
this confirms to me we have a lot, but A LOT of readers, 4500 hits daily on this board is something refreshing!
Good day, I am Lane, 29 yr. old, ex-pat living in Barcelona. Originially from The Commonwealth of Virginia, lived in Spain way back when Franco was alive (Parents were stationed in BCN), moved back to BCN after college. Life long Barca fan although the last 4 years have been tough with Madrid dominating the way they have. Also support Espanyol, MANU, Tottenham, Salamanca, Rayo Vallecano, Levski of Sofia, and of course, DC UNITED!!!!! No love for Real Madrid and Arsenal. Figo going to Madrid didn't bother me, Celedes going did..... Fave Barca player: Luis Enrique, that guy has cojones. other Fave footballers: Romario, Timmy Howard, Robbie Keene, Tamudo, Ben Olsen, Zidane. Oddly enough Camp Nou is not as great play to see a game, unless Madrid is in town. A very cheese and wine crowd. But none the less the stadium is huge. I used to be a freelance soccer write based here in BCN, wrote for the now defunct internetsoccer.com and CNN.com. Best interview: Kasey Keller. Hopefully this season a team in La Liga will sign a Yank. Viva Gaspart!!!! and Forca Barca!!!!
I'm a Barcelona Board lurker. Dylan. 32. In Japan. Not married, but... I fell in love with Barça in 1992 primarily because a) I was living there, b) Barça played the most attractive soccer I'd ever seen, c) I got to see them at the Nou Camp a few times, and d) I thought Laudrup was a soccer god. I still think he's one of the most underrated players ever - and he's still my favorite Barça player because he selflessly brought his teammates into the game - the oil that kept the Dream Team running.
This is my first time posting on the Barca board. My name is Mike, 21 years old, from Chicago. Growing up, I didn't like soccer very much. My father played in mexico before eventually getting into business and politics. He loved the game, espescially Chivas, and crammed both down my throat for most of my youth. Naturally, I rebelled by hating everything about soccer. Well, my parents got divorced, and since my father and I never could really talk about anything other than sports, I started to get into soccer. This was around the time of the 94 World Cup. At that time, I wasn't really interested in soccer at the club level. I kinda supported the U.S, but mostly Mexico. If only because I thought that a World Cup victory in the U.S would be huge story for about a week, while in Mexico, it would change people's lives. But, I digress. My interest at the club level started when I saw an AC Milan game on television. Something about this game was different than the ones I had seen before. It was somehow more... "big time". It intrigued me enough to seek out more european soccer. The next team I discovered was Man U. They hooked me. I loved the style and atmosphere of european soccer, and the history of the clubs. Man U made it easy to follow online with gameday audio streaming. The more research I did on clubs, the more I began to like Barca. I like everything about them, from the tradition, the underdog element, to the jerseys. Those are the only two european clubs that I care about. I later began to follow the Chicago Fire, and am now a season ticket holder in Section 8(the supporter's section). Sorry if this was too much information for you guys, but it's late, and this is when my writing really starts to flow (college habit ) -Mike
I'm Jeffrey, an old man (44) living in Barcelona since 1987, phew. Married to a Catalan, one 5 year old boy. I played soccer in Vancouver where I was born and raised, but played badly until I finally got physical condition in my teens, when I played just okay. Followed the Whitecaps in the 70s and to the end of the NASL, and now root for the A-league version. I am also a Canada fan and regularly post on the Voyageur board. My first Barça game at Camp Nou was vs. Cadiz, Mágico Gonzalez played, they won. For years I never actually saw Barça win at Camp Nou, always picked the wrong game to go to. But Barça revived my passion for the game, and of course the Dream Team under Cruyff was just amazing, we were so privileged back then. Probably my favourite player over these years has been Guardiola. I love Camp Nou, even when the crowd is cold, the most beautiful stadium for me. Funnily enough, a buddy here born in San Diego, with almost as many years in Spain as I, is my main fellow Barça fan. I also go to lower division games, 2B, 3rd, even lower down as my neighbourhood team, Poble Sec is in what is effectively 5th tier. I love watching games at this level, including the Barça youth teams, I feel privileged to have seen lots of future Barça and other stars (like Arteta at Rangers) in the Mini-Estadi. Must admit I also go occasionally to Espanyol games, all part of supporting the teams that play where I live. I am not an Espanyol hater at all, except when they play us.
Yes, Magico. I went to that first game with a guy named Jeff King who wrote the book on the Robson years at Barça. He actually came to Barcelona to follow Lineker. Think he has authored a few others, perhaps is actually working in press for a club in EPL now, maybe Spurs?
Hey all Im Alejandro..i was practically born with a Barca jersey... Im 18 next month, and I love Barca, theyre my life. I go to Camp Nou every year just because i live overseas, otherwise i would be there every game. Visca Barca PS- For all the hot ladies out there, sorry im taken