The Purple and Gold Came to Visit Me in Barcelona

As some of you may know, the Lakers played a preseason game against Regal FC Barcelona a week or so ago. As some of you may not know, I have had my ticket since July. The day I heard they were going to be in BCN, I went home and bought my ticket. I actually bought two because I knew that I would be able to find someone who would love to go - and I did, my friend Christina who is from LA and also studying in BCN.  I wasn't going to take any chances of not being able to go to a game which clearly fate had planned for me to attend. And thank god I did; by the time I arrived here in September, tickets were already 600 euros and a few weeks before the game were entirely sold out. I was prepared for that seeing as how Pau Gasol was born and raised in Barcelona and played for them at one point.

So not only were the 2 time reigning NBA champs going to be playing but Pau was returning home.
The day before the big game, the NBA set up a 'fan zone' in a plaza near the stadium. They had some courts set up for demos and contests and they had a table for some meet and greet. After my classes were finished, I took the metro over in hopes of seeing some of my boyfriends.

Me and the Larry O'Brien NBA Championship Trophy...that Kobe and Derek Fisher have kissed :)

To my delight, Andrew Bynum and Devin Ebanks were signing autographs. When it was my turn to go up, Andrew looked at me and said (like he's never spoken a day of Spanish in his life), "Hola!" I quickly responded with, "Hey! I'm Kathleen!" He laughed and said, "Oh heyy what's up, I'm Andrew!" (I had to stop myself from saying, "Yes, Andrew, I know haha") But anyways I told him that I was from LA and had had my ticket since July and couldn't wait to see them play. He was very excited that a local from home would be there supporting them.

(Andrew Bynum and me)

So then it was time for the hometown hero, Mr. Pau Gasol, to arrive. I know that Pau is tall but good lord the man is a giant! I was standing next to him when he high fived me and I was actually craning my neck to see his face. I guess that's why they call him our big man. He and Ricky Rubio (plays for BCN and also high-fived me) did a demo for crowd and got every hyped for the game the following day. It was really fun to watch not only because I was a few feet away from them but seeing the people of Catalonia respond so welcoming to Pau was really great. 

(Pau right before he high fived me); (Pau and Ricky)

So finally it was game day. I donned my Kobe Sunday whites jersey, lent my Eddie Jones jersey to my friend Christina, and we were off! No one at school could believe we were actually going to the game - green with envy doesn't even begin to describe it. The game itself was amazing. Although the Lakers lost by 4, it was a great show of talent, skill, and passion. 

(Christina and me at the game)

The next day people who dislike the Lakers and knew I had gone to the game tried to rub it in my face. The only thing I could say to them was, "I honestly don't care that we lost. Yea, it would have been great to win but even just being in the stadium and being a part of that game was the greatest thing I could have asked for." Not only is that 100% true, but it shut people up pretty quickly haha.

But I know that for the rest of my life I will remember that time when the Lakers and Kathleen Harper happened to be in the same foreign country at the same time and I managed to go see. If that's not a true fan with dedication, I don't know what is :)