Last month, I traveled to DC. I was not there for a conference or for meetings. Rather, my friend Brooks and I were there for a weekend of Barcelona football. On the night we got in, we went to FedEx field and saw both teams practice. It was incredible to see the skill and preparation of each team, particularly Barca. Shown below is a circle drill Barca commonly practices to gain comfort in passing the ball quickly and in tight quarters. No one does this better than them, and now I know why. Preparation.
The next night, we watched Barca and Man U face off in a "friendly" match that was a re-match of the Champions' League Final from May. Unfortunately, Man U beat the Barca squad that was largely comprised of B team players that was sans Messi :(. However, it was still wondrous to see football played on such a high level by both teams. It will be difficult to go back to watching MLS games after this spectacle.
More than just the football events, it was great to catch up with my friend Brooks and to have some time to myself. We took in the DC sites- mainly indoors because it was in the high 90s! We went to the National Gallery and the Phillips Collection between large cups of iced coffee and gatorade and had a great brunch at Kramerbooks.
During the weekend, we discussed our plans for next year. Brooks begins his second year of medical school, and I have a slew of grants to write and get funded. Before we parted, we also made plans to meet again- hopefully for another soccer weekend somewhere. Can you say annual tradition?
Here is to more beautiful weekends with the best club and one of my best friends!
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