Imagine going to Spain to learn Spanish and suddenly finding yourself in a restaurant surrounded by nearly 100 Chinese, Korean and Japanese students.
I ushered in the Chinese New Year the Year of the Rabbit with almost every Asian in Salamanca. Several friends from my grammar class invited me to celebrate the New Year with them at a Chinese restaurant, and, figuring that it would be a small affair, I accepted the invitation.
Not knowing what to do or what to eat, I turned to an American friend for advice. Although I was only expecting him to tell me what to order, he said, "When in Spain, do what the Chinese do." He said this as a joke, but his words really inspired me. For me, this phrase means that you should search and do something unexpected whenever you are in a foreign country. It means to try new things instead of just visiting all the stereotypical tourist traps. Enthused by my friend's words, I set out to try to absorb as much of the unknown Spanish sports culture as possible.
In true Spanish fashion, I've started napping several days per week. In Salamanca, almost every business except for restaurants and cafes closes for the mid-afternoon tradition of the siesta. When I first arrived, I tried to skip naptime. But I soon realized that I absolutely cannot accomplish anything between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. because nothing is open. The banks are closed and the schools are closed I can't even get a lift in because my gym doesn't reopen until after everyone has woken up.
When I can't fall asleep, I watch TV. Surprisingly, there are always live sporting events during the siesta because no one is working. You won't find teams such as FC Barcelona or Real Madrid playing during the daytime hours, however. The afternoon timeslot is always reserved for the obscure. If the fictional ESPN channel "The Ocho" in "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (2004) was real, it would cover every sport broadcasted during the afternoon in Spain.
The first unpopular sport I watched was handball, an Olympic sport, apparently. This "sport" supposedly sells out stadiums in Europe. People have told me that the handballers (sounds dirty, doesn't it?) are some of Europe's premier athletes. Despite the hype, I don't see what all the fuss is about. Don't get me wrong, the sport can be exciting. But the problem stems from the fact that handball is simply the combination of several major sports.
If you have never seen a handball game (which is most of you, I'm sure), it is difficult to imagine this scene. First take the small nets and lacrosse goalies without the bulky helmets and pads. Next, add the zone defense and ball movement of basketball. Then add the open field sprinting of soccer and the high-speed tosses of baseball for good measure. Now mix it all up and put it on TV for 2.5 hours. There you have it: a handball game.
This combination might seem awesome at first, but remember that a great event is not the sum of its parts. Watching handball is like watching the movie "The Expendables" (2010), which boasts nearly a dozen of the most influential action stars over the past two decades. Despite the talent, the movie does not leave a lasting impression.
Handball produces the same disappointing effect. The game is fast-paced but the matches never captivate a crowd in the same manner that a good football, basketball or hockey game can. The main problem is that other sports have better athletes no one in the international handball league can sling a ball as hard as Randy Johnson in his prime. None of the goalies can block a shot like Marc-Andre Fleury. If you take the most athletic players from any NFL team and teach them the rules of handball, they would undoubtedly destroy any European national team.
I quickly lost interest in handball, but there are still other sports to watch. The beauty of the siesta is that several channels broadcast athletic obscurity. I'm debating between watching skeet shooting or indoor soccer next. Either way I'm trying something new, so I can't lose.
