Let me first start off by saying that I have been an FC Barcelona supporter for quite a while now but up until this point I have never seen a match in the Camp Nou. I have visited the stadium, done the tour, etc., but never when the team was in town. So when this trip was planned I was counting down the months, then weeks, days, hours, and minutes until I was able to witness a FC Barcelona match in the Camp Nou.

Being a native Southern California resident I had previously only seen the club when they did their US Tours playing against either Mexican clubs or MLS clubs. Being the preseason it was usually odd lineups with the star players playing less than 45 minutes. Watching FC Barcelona in these matches I was always in awe of how easily they were able to move the ball around and just look so much better than the club they were going up against.

All I have to say is that if you have not watched FC Barcelona live in an actual match that counts then you have not seen what these players are really capable of, it is absolutely mind boggling how good these guys are. TV or the preseason just does not do it justice.

So let me take a step back and give you a description of game day. First of all the matches typically start at 8pm or 10pm. It is easy to tell when there is a game because everyone is wearing their Barça kits starting first thing in the morning. All of the newspapers have Barça on the front page and you can just kind of feel it in the air.

Being just a few hundred yards from the stadium it was quite a spectacle to look down out of my hotel window about an hour and a half before kickoff and watch the sidewalk below swarmed with people all wearing their blaugrana, with Catalunya flags draped over them and their Barça scarves, chanting as they make their way to the stadium.

At this point I am so excited that I have butterflies in my stomach, you would think that I was actually going to have to go out there and play. The excitement and anticipation to see my first match was almost unbearable so I finally decided to go down and joined the others in the pilgrimage.

Entering into the stadium brought me back to being a child, I still remember seeing my first American Football game, it happened to be a night game just like this match, the lights hitting the bright green grass and just getting a little glimpses of the field as you make your way around the stadium to your section before finally walking down and the stadium opens up to reveal the entire field and the entire crowd around you. It is an amazing, overwhelming feeling.

As the players take the pitch to start their warm-ups the crowd goes crazy. My seat is right behind the south corner flag just twelve rows up so the view is amazing.

I watch Dani Alves and Lionel Messi pass the ball back and forth with such little ease both in the air and on the ground, I cannot believe how easy and effortless they make it look.

Finally it is game time and the stadium, because it is a midweek game, is only about ¾ full but from my vantage point it looks packed, keep in mind the stadium seats close to 100,000. The crowd is chanting El Cant de Barça, huge Catalan and Barça flags are waving in the stands and I feel a wave of emotion come over me because I realize that I AM FINALLY HERE!!!

I will not go into detail about the match because most everyone is familiar with how the match played out and the brilliant performance that the team put on. But following the match we made our way with pretty much most of the crowd in the stadium to one of the many bars just outside. There we partied the rest of the night away celebrating the thumping that Barça put on Deportivo and signing Tot el camp, és un clam………….

Life is good!