Campeones!

I feel very lucky to be studying abroad during a season when FC Barcelona is the Champions league winner. Needless to say, witnessing the riots and celebrations that took place after the game was certainly an experience, and one of the best parts about being here for the game. I went with a group of friends to watch the game at Barcelona's Arc de Triumf. There was a large screen put up on the arc, and tens of thousands of people flocked here to watch the game together.

This is a photo of the arc, the screen, and part of the crowd. 

This portion of the crowd was behind us... 

As the sun went down, the game got more intense.

Whenever Barca scored, people set of flares, fireworks, and would throw stuff throughout the crowd. Clearly not the safest environment, but it was SO much fun.  

It felt like the entire city was bursting with excitement leading up to this game, and our group was equally excited to be there to witness it. 

After the victory, the celebration headed to Plaza Catalunya and La Rambla - The center and main part of the city. It was all out madness with people setting of fireworks in the streets (which were crawling with people), people climbing up the trees and light posts, and the unending sounds of Barca chants, blow horns, and just plain screaming. 

This is a photo of Plaza Catalunya - wall to wall with people. The game ended at about 11 pm, and these celebrations continued into the night to about 5 am. 

The rest of these photos are attempts to capture the amount of people on La Rambla. The street stretches for well over a mile from Plaza Catalunya to the port, and all you could see were people lining the streets. It was intense. 

Being here for this game, and seeing the following celebrations was really amazing. I feel real lucky that I got to experience it. 

We stayed at the celebrations for about 2 hours. One of us had a close call with a firework that was set off in the middle of the crowd, and we all decided that we should leave before things got dangerously intense. We heard that only a half hour after we left, the police began taking action, and for a few HOURS, there was a legitimate battle between the police and the Barca fans who were not ready to quit! 

You've gotta love these Spaniards for being crazy. Visca Barca!