an open letter to real madrid cf
dear real madrid,
I don't remember it, but when I was two, I watched Raúl silence the Camp Nou.
I'm not bringing this up to talk about how I've been a Madridista since the womb or anything like that. I bring it up because that moment is an iconic moment of madridismo, and it is, I think, indicative of this club, the club I hold the most dear.
Click to view"Real Madrid has shown, more than any other team in domestic football, the resilience and the resolve to come back from being down, battered, bruised, hammered, disgruntled, any sorts of controversies, firing of coaches, they just keep coming through the flames," says commentator Ray Hudson. When Raúl scored that legendary goal, he and Madrid exemplified this.
People fall out of love with their childhood teams all the time. Perhaps they nurse a small bit of sympathy- they check the scores every now and then, and they smile to themselves when the club wins a trophy. It's easy to lose touch, I suppose, but then again, I wouldn't know.
I never fell out of love with Real Madrid. Through the late '90s, I watched Raúl and Mori tear apart seasoned defenses with ease. I watched Madrid win a few league trophies, a few champions leagues. Then came the revolving door of managers, and through it all, Madrid kept its identity whole. Madridismo may have been tested, but it never faltered. It was to madridismo that I clung, watching matches at home with my family and at school on my laptop, refreshing grainy streams every few minutes and praying I didn't miss a goal.
But I could talk all day about Madrid. I could talk about the Franco theories, the storied history of the club, my favorite matches. I could talk about the white shirt and the peculiar feeling in my chest when I see a player kiss the crest. I could talk about what it feels like to hear the Bernabéu sing - and oh, does it sing.
There are players' egos - there is Cristiano Ronaldo - and there is how I have come to love Cristiano Ronaldo despite his ego, for how he defends Madrid and for what he has given this club with his extraordinary talents. There are the fans, who are at once the most demanding and most rewarding fans in the world, the fans who gave a standing ovation to Ronaldinho when he orchestrated Barcelona's 6-2 victory at the Bernabéu. Madridistas love Madrid, but we also love good football. The two don't always go hand in hand - we can talk at length about a year ago, the manita. It is fitting, I think, that a team that can achieve the highest of highs also can suffer the lowest of lows.
And then there is the simple fact that when Real Madrid is good - and they are good quite often - when our polished band of superstars comes together and plays as one, destroying defenses at will and scoring for beauty above anything else, it's as if they are the only team in the world. They become the only team worth watching, and they are positively riveting. It is for these moments that I hang on to madridismo, through countless managers and in the seemingly endless quest for La Decima. It is for these moments, because when they come, when El Madrid is as electrifying as they can be-
Because then there's nothing else to do but to turn my head up to the heavens and say thank you.