London Day 2

Big Ben

Some Turkish Diplomats arriving for tea with the Queen


Buckingham Palace!

The Ritz Carlton - before we got kicked out because Alex was wearing jeans

Harrods on Kensington High (Oscar de la Renta)

Karl Lagerfield for Chanel at Victoria and Albert Museum

Christian LaCroix

Vintage day dress

The Underground

Just touched down in London town...

Alex and I just got back from our first day out in London! Last night Don and Sandra took us with their neighbors Nicki and Andy (a totally delightful stereotypically British couple) to a South Indian restaurant called Ganapati in Peckham Rye for my birthday and then we went home for Don's homemade apple pie with a candle in it for desert. The dinner was amazing - they go there weekly and have quite a rapport with the waitstaff. I had a lamb curry and Alex a spicy chicken curry with coconut rice and a naan-like fry bread and different salsas and an Indian beer called Cobra.
Today Alex and I took the overground to the Southbank and went to St. Paul's Cathedral which was having Ash Wednesday Services and the Tate Modern (lots of Jackson Pollock!) which was 2£ for the audio tour and free admission so we spent HOURS there and when we came out it was dark and everything was closed! Every piece in the museum makes you think... There are Picassos, Matisse, Riveras, Ballas and more! We took pictures in front of the Globe (closed) and got hot chocolate (it's freezing here and the wind by the Thames is extra icy) and came home. Don is at his pilates class right now but is going to pick up fish and chips for all of us on the way home. Tomorrow we are waking up early to try and go see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and then we are going to take a tour bus around and go to Harrods and eat lunch and hopefully Trafalgar Square and Westminster if there is time. Needless to say our feet are killing us!!

St. Paul's Cathedral

Jackson Pollock at the Tate Modern (oops no pictures!)

Shakespeare's (rebuilt) Globe

Victoria en Coslada - 22's back!!

Alex returns a punt for a touchdown (85 yards)
Following his blocker

Los Sulime Linces consiguieron la primera victoria de la temporada al derrotar a los Coslada Camioneros por 12-30 en un partido en el que la defensa madrileña no pudo parar al corredor Alex Garfio, que se convertía en la estrella del partido al lograr cuatro touchdowns.
A pesar de que Camioneros rompía la igualdad del encuentro en su primer drive ofensivo los sevillanos no se descompusieron y poco a poco se hicieron con el control del encuentro gracias a la fortaleza de su defensa y al magnifico partido ofensivo que realizo el corredor Alejandro Garfio. El control de Linces iba materializándose en el marcado llegándose al descanso del partido con una ventaja de 6-20.
Tras la reanudación Camioneros recorto distancias gracias a su juego de carrera pero esto no fue suficiente y de nuevo Alejandro Garfio tomaba las riendas del ataque sevillano para aumentar la diferencia en el marcador (12-27).
Poco antes de la finalización Javier del Pozo sentenciaba el encuentro con un Field Goal que situaba el marcador en el 12-30 definitivo y redondeaba una tarde en la que el pateador sevillano conseguía tres extra points y un field goal.
Para Antonio Laguna, entrenador jefe de los Sulime Linces: “hemos recogido el fruto del tremendo trabajo que venimos realizando desde el inicio de la temporada. Los jugadores se merecían este premio y han peleado por conseguirlo. Ahora tenemos que centrarnos en lo que queda de temporada y no fallar si queremos obtener una de las plazas para los playoffs”.

Me Fui Hasta Madrid...

Immediately after landing in Sevilla, Alex and I hopped a bus (7 hours through the countryside and one Madrid rush hour) and arrived in downtown Madrid. From there we took the Metro to Gran Via which is the main street in Madrid and semi-successfully found Hostel Miralva after lugging all our bags and football gear for about ten minutes in the wrong direction. Madrid is bustling at night - people were all dressed in costume for Carnival (which continued for the whole weekend, but we didn't figure it out until late Saturday night..) and people heading out for dinner before getting their night started. We went to Don Jamon like a couple of tourists for a Tortilla Espanola (which is essesntially an omelette with potato in it that you cut up and put on bread with olive oil and tomato); and then to a Botellon with Xavi and his cousin (also named Alex) which is the "pre-party" of Spain where groups of young people gather on the side streets to chat and drink cervezas and decide what Discoteca they are going to go to for the night.




The next morning we ate Cafe and Pastries at Pan and then decided to get lost in the general direction of the Palacio Real. We first ended up in Plaza Mayor and got to see an impromptu flamenco performance which was amazing. Only in Spain can you find street performers who are talented flamenco artists or opera singers (as was the case on another street). After we kept walking we found the Italian Embassy which was having a free show on Missoni. After the embassy we wandered over to the Cathedral and Palacia Real which is ENOURMOUS. Across from the Palace we had $1 tapas and vino and talked to an American family who just moved to Spain and was totally at a loss for language.

Sunday was Alex's game against the Coslada Camionero's. Alex scored 4 touchdowns (WOOOHOO!!!!) and the Linces won their first game 30-12!!!!! Alex even had a punt return for a touchdown!

TO BE CONTINUED>>>> We have to go catch our flight to London!!

Linces-Bufals Recap

Barcelona!!!

Last Saturday we played our third game in Barcelona against the Bufals. I've been to Barcelona once before and it is definitely one of my favorite places in Spain. The city is very different from Sevilla in many ways. In particular, people in Barcelona prefer to speak Catalan instead of traditional Castilian (Spanish). Also, the city is much more modern in terms of architecture. We didn't get to do much sight seeing while in Barcelona, however i spent a week there a few years ago so I felt like I knew the city pretty well.

Flight to Barcelona. The two largest men on the team sat next to each other, haha!

We played our game near the ocean which made me feel like i was playing in Ventura again. Once again we started off pretty slow and the opposing team capitalized on it with a long touchdown pass. We began to pick up momentum by sticking to the running game. This was definitely one of the most exhausting games I have ever played. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but i'm confident i ran the ball over 30 times this game. Additionaly, i played a few defensive series at the free safety position. Offensively, we got into the red zone (within the opposing teams 20yd line) 6 times and only came out with 10 points. We would run the ball all the way down the field and once we got into the red zone their defense would put 9 players in the defensive box to stop our run. We were winning the game 10-7 until the final minute when they drove down the field and scored on a run. We ended up losing a tough one 13-7.

Practicing my punt returns

On the bright side our team played with some great intensity that we had been lacking in the previous games. The addition of the new players gave our team much confidence, especially defensively. Next week we travel to Madrid to face the Camioneros. Yesterday, I introduced a new goal line offense to help us out when we get into scoring range. These plays worked perfectly in practice and everyone seems to be very excited about them. In addition, Jennie will be there to cheer us on so there's no way we can lose!!!

Post-game meal

Linces vs. Bufals... in Barcelona!

Highlights from the Linces/Bufals game

Selección Jugadas XV LNFA: Bufals Linces from Primer Down on Vimeo.

El sábado por la mañana se jugaba el partido que enfrentaba a Barcelona Bufals y a Sevilla Linces en el Estadi Joan Serrahima de Barcelona. Fue un partido muy disputado, con giros en el marcador hasta los últimos minutos.
Linces empezó atacando, pero acabó chutando un punt que dejaba el balón para Bufals en la yarda 20. Fue entonces, en la primera jugada ofensiva de los barceloneses en el partido, cuando el QB Roger Navàs conectó un pase con el WR Tim Pape (Que debutaba como Senior) que acababa en Touchdown. Aleix Ruiz transformaba el Extrapoint que dejaba el marcador en 7-0. Ambos equipos consiguieron pararse mutuamente, llegando con el mismo marcador al segundo cuarto.

En un segundo cuarto en el que Linces movió casi ininterrumpidamente las cadenas gracias las carreras del RB Alex Garfio, el Qb del equipo sevillano empataba el partido gracias a una carrera. Javi del Pozo transformaba el Extrapoint que empataba el resultado.

Tras la media parte, Bufals movió el balón gracias a las carreras de Adrià Sastre, Linces recuperó un fumble y se siguió moviendo gracias a las carreras de Alex Garfio. Tras bastantes intentos en la Red Zone de Bufals, los sevillanos anotaron un Field Goal, chutado por el Javi del Pozo, que les adelantaba en el marcador (7-10).

En el último cuarto, un mal snap en un punt de Sevilla dejó una muy buena posición de campo a Bufals, que no pudo aprovechar, ya que Linces interceptó el balón en las jugadas siguientes. Los barceloneses dieron la vuelta al marcador gracias a una muy buena carrera de Adrià Sastre. El Extrapoint fue bloqueado por la defensa de Linces.

En los últimos instantes del partido, los sevillanos intentaron volver a darle la vuelta al marcador, pero Bufals intercepto el balón en una de sus jugadas de pase, buscando avanzar lo más rápido posible, agotando el tiempo con su posesión.

Ambos equipos estrenaban jugadores en el campo para este partido y ambos dieron una buena imagen.

Walk Around the Neighborhood with Me (click to see google maps)

Ancient Roman walls in La Macarena

Macarena Basilica

Gateway to my neighborhood

Alameda de Hercules. Myth has it that Hercules was the founder of Sevilla

Ancient Roman statues of Julius Ceasar and Hercules

Just walking

Close up of the Roman pillars

Colorful Churches in my hood

Iglesia de Omnium Sactorum. This is the oldest church in Sevilla as it dates back to the thirteenth century. I live right behind it.



This one is for my mom. Check out those bruises, and that's just from pracice:). Don't worry i'm giving them out too.

Sevilla FC v. Real Betis Soccer Madness!!!!

Last Saturday Sevilla went wild with soccer madness as two cross-town rivals went head to head. Sevilla Futbol Club and Real Betis is one of the most bitter rivalries in all of Spain. The teams are separated by no more than 5 miles and have decades of built up tension. On the day of the game the city turned red and green, the respective colors of Sevilla and Betis. Sevilla Futbol Club played the game at home, where they had not lost to Betis in over 13 years and all over Sevilla you could hear the drunken chants coming from local pubs and bars. On the day of the game, my good Sevillian friend Xavi took me on a trip around the city to experience the madness. That day I decided to jokingly send my coach a text message saying, "VAMOS SEVILLA", knowing very well he was a die hard Betis fan. I didn't know how much this game meant to the Sevillians until he responded in Spanish, "I was going to invite you over for dinner but now you lost that privaledge as well as your ticket back to the United States!!!". Of course he was just kidding....I hope:). Xavi then took me to a local bar where we saw the Superbowl the previous weekend. As i entered all I could hear and see was a mass of drunk men wearing red and in unison chanting the team songs of Sevilla. I was surprised by all the songs that the men knew. I was in the bar for at least 45 minutes and the men never stopped chanting and they never repeated a song. Keep, in mind that many of these men did not even know each other. At the corner of the bar, there were a few faithful Betis fans holding there ground against Sevillas mob.

Our next stop was Sevilla's home, Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium. I didn't get to go inside of the stadium, but from walking around the outside I could tell why they didn't sell alcohol inside. I thought a UCLA-USC footbal game was bad, but this was just insane. There were riot police all around the stadium making sure no fights broke out, which Xavi told me happened on the regular. I really felt bad for the Betis fans because they were constantly getting heckled by the mob of Sevilla Futbol Club fanatics. However, somehow Betis pulled off the upset victory and beat Sevilla in their own stadium for the first time in over a decade. Soon after the game you could see the Betis fans trickle out of the bars and their houses to celebrate their victory on the streets. I'm not going to lie, I was pretty happy when Betis won. Not only because i love it when an underdog wins, but I was pretty sure I won my ticket back home!

Last Game and Upcoming Schedule

Our last game vs. the Valencia Firebats ended much like the first game, our inexperience really showed. We lost the game 33-7 but we improved in few key areas. Once again I scored our only touchdown on a 3 yard carry. The good thing is that these first 2 games where against the toughest teams in the Spain. We have 7 games left on the schedule and 5 of those are on the road. Also, Sorry about the constant change of jersey numbers, we are really in need of new jerseys. I wore #39 last week and i will probably wear a different number the next week. I've given up on my dreams of having #22 and have decided to bring honor to whatever number they give me:).

This week we have off but here is the schedule for the rest of the season:
Feb 14- @ Barcelona Bufals
Feb 22- @ Madrid Camioneros
Feb 24-27- Jennie and I are going to London!!!
Mar 8- Home v. Rivas Osos
Mar 28-Home v. Badalona Dracs
Apr 4- @ Madrid v. Black Demons
Apr 18- @ Gijon Mariners
Apr 25- @Granada Lions
*For playoffs we must win 4 of these games.

Our following game against the Barcelona Bufals should be a turning point in our season. Recently, a few new players have joined our team. By a stroke of luck we found an American Quarterback studying is Sevilla. Although he has not played in a few years, I'm sure he will help us out tremendously. Additionally, we picked up a linebacker/fullback from Mexico who is currently studying in Cordoba. He is a solid player with good size and a great nose for the football. Also, our head coach Antonio and our running back coach Lars have decided to suit up once more and join us for the remainder of the season. Antonio and Lars have both played for over 10 years and they will add much experience to this young team. Lastly, for the next game i have been told that i will also play Free Safety and i am really excited to play defense. So look for me on both sides of the ball wearing a new number.

Super Bowl Weekend

Sevilla Linces watching the Super Bowl at 3am, that's commitment to the Game!!!

Post Game at Buddah

Linces vs. Firebats

Week 2 - The Linces take on the Firebats from Valencia

This time Alex is number 39....

Game Two Highlights

Los Sulime Linces cayeron derrotados antes los ADT Firebats por 7-33 en un partido en el que los sevillanos mostraron mejor juego que la pasada semana ante los Hospitalet Pioners, actuales campeones de liga.

Linces sabia de antemano que lo tendría difícil ante el equipo valencia, actual subcampeón de la competición. A pesar de todo esperaban que el trabajo realizado durante la semana para pulir lo fallos mostrado ante Pioners en la primera jornada diera su fruto. Los resultados del trabajo llegaron pero no lo suficiente como para derrotar a los subcampeones.

El partido comenzó bastante igualado abriendo el marcador Firebats en el primer cuarto de la mano de Tacho Urue. Linces parecía mantener el tipo ante el ataque valenciano liderado por Fernando Altarriba pero su ofensiva no conseguía abrir brecha en la defensa de ADT Firebats.

Ya en el segundo cuarto los valencianos comenzaron a controlar el partido y con dos ensayos mas de Garbajosa y Altarriba ampliaban distancias. Linces no se amilano y gracias a una carrera de tres yardas de Alejandro Garfio acortaba distancias dejando el marcador en 7-19 para los visitantes.

Poco antes del descanso una interceptación al quarterback sevillano Hugo Fernández dejaba en una inmejorable situación de campo al ataque valenciano que sumaba un nuevo touchdown a tan solo un segundo de la finalización del descanso, al que se llego con el resultado de 7-25.

Tras la reanudación los sevillanos ajustaron su defensa y comenzaron a poner mas dificultades a los visitantes. El ataque de Linces comenzaba a mover mejor el balón aunque no conseguía materializar en el marcador. ADT Firebats en cambio conseguía una nueva anotación de la mano de Carlos Ibáñez, uno de los jugadores destacados del partido.

Ya en el ultimo cuarto Linces controlo mejor el balón y únicamente una gran actuación de la defensa de ADT Firebats, que paro en cuatro ocasiones a los sevillanos a menos de tres yardas de la zona de anotación, impidió que Linces acortara distancias en el marcador finalizando el encuentro con 7-33 para el equipo valenciano.

Antonio Laguna, Entrenador Jefe de Linces, se mostraba esperanzado”: hemos mejorado respecto la pasada semana pero aun no es suficiente. Las dos primeras jornadas de liga ante Pioners (Campeones de Liga) y ADT Firebats (Subcampeones) nos han servido para ajustar nuestro juego y esperamos que esto de sus frutos en próximas jornadas.”