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The Iberian Horseshoe — A Journey

Part III. South East

Local Sport & Chat

Steve Porter

Global Fiction

First publication: January 2007

http://badosa.com/n250-35

Mick and I went along to see the local side play Sporting de Gijón in Spanish Segunda A—the second highest division in the country. On the bus to the game there were quite a number of women, even older ones. Mick thought there must be a shopping complex nearby to accommodate them while their husbands went to the game. But Spanish football is a family affair.

During the warm up, the Elche team sprinted across the width of the pitch. One player looked as if he was in a swimming pool treading water while the rest of the team sprinted for the far side touchline.

“Who is the old guy with the bandy legs?” Mick asked.

“It’s Mazinho. I saw him play for Celta a couple of years ago. He was never fast but now he looks positively arthritic.”

After the game we went to The Cricket. I suppose it was our local because it was halfway between Mick’s flat and mine. I liked it because you could sit out on the street late during much of the year as was the custom here. But as this evening was quite a bit cooler we sat inside. Men and women chatted together and there was little sign of heavy drinking. We noticed that one group was engrossed in a game of Ludo. Mick wondered if “Hey love, do you fancy a game of Ludo?” was a common chat up line in these parts.