THE END OF AN ERA

Today, Barca were thoroughly dismantled by a superior Bayern Munich team. This blog post will certainly not be the most definitive account or explanation written today about that thrashing and an end to Barca's era of football domination. However, it will be among the most personal.

I realize that this blog has been dominated by a single subject in the past three years - Football Club Barcelona. The reason is simple. Nothing else in life gives me the same singular sense of pleasure as watching the way this club has played football for the past three years.

Happiness is not a word I would ever use to describe me. Life is hard, busy, challenging. Yet, happiness - no, joy - is what I felt for the first time in many years when I saw Barca play at their iconic Camp Nou Stadium on a cool November night last year.

My kids, Nicholas and Catherine, feel a similar affinity for the club, and it has been great to enjoy this Barca team with them.

Indeed, there are few things in life I have ever witnessed that are as beautiful as the way these players have transformed a ball into a brush on the pitch that has been their canvas. They play their music as a team - like a symphony with many "first chair" players - with very few solo goals. Because of that, it is sad to see something I love struggle, whither, and fade.

There are several reasons for Barca's decline. First, their coach Tito Villanova suffered a relapse of his cancer that required a 3 month leave of absence. In Tito's absence, the void in leadership became great. Despite his return, leadership has continued to elude this team. Tito's decisions have been poor and have cost the team dearly.  Second, the team has not invested wisely in the right players. Barca has been without proper defenders for over two years, and this has caught up with them. This year, the team conceded a record number of goals compared with the prior four seasons, and this season is not yet done. Third, the players no longer have that drive to fight until the end and to focus for every second of the match. This is a necessity for competitions like the European Champions' League, and our lack of hunger has cost us dearly this year. I do not blame anyone person for this. This lack of hunger is merely a by-product of these players winning literally every trophy there is to win in the past 5 years- 2 European Championship titles, 1 World Cup title, 2 European Champions' League titles, 3 Spanish League titles, 1 Club World Cup title, etc, etc. Compared with a Bayern Munich team whose players have won none of those trophies, the chasm in desire and intensity between our players and theirs was stark.

So, where do we go from here? I will remain a committed fan - sad - but still committed. However, the team needs to make several crucial decisions if they are to evolve and move forward.

In my day job, I study cancer evolution. That chaotic process leads to changes in the genes of cancer cells. The process of cancer treatment gives certain cancer cells a survival advantage. Commonly, the cancer cells with the greatest number of different gene changes are the "fittest." Particularly virulent are the cancer cells whose gene changes work in concert with each other. As opposed to cancer cells with one gene change, or monstrous head, these complex, Medusa-like cancer cells are very resistant to treatment and nearly impossible to stop.

To extend this to a football club, the team with the greatest number of different threats that complement one another are the winners. Bayern will be in their third Champions' League final in the past four years three weeks from now because each summer they have strengthened their squad and improved their tactics. Today's result speaks for itself.

Barca, too, will need to evolve if they are to regain the crown as the world's best club. First, as painful as this sounds, Barca needs a new coach. Battling life-threatening cancer and coaching Barca are truly incompatible.  Despite his recovery, Tito is a shell of his former self, and the fans and players have lost belief in him due to his recent decisions and the team's poor play. Second, we need to sell (trade) players who once brought this club pride and trophies alike. Their accomplishments are remarkable, but the team needs to plan for the future rather than dwell on the past. Third, the best players in the world who are most compatible with Barca's selfless system of passing and team attacking must be bought... at whatever cost. Finally, the team needs to find a way to score and win without Lionel Messi.

Today, Messi watched from the bench because he was not fit. In fact, he probably re-aggravated his thigh injury by playing in Barca's meaningless Spanish league game over the weekend. Messi should not have been risked that day, and when today's lineup was announced without him in it, we all knew that Barca had no chance.

Last year many people celebrated when Messi broke the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year. I was not one of them. Surely, Messi's record was partially explained by his skill and dominance. However, lack of other goal-scoring threats on the team was as important for Messi setting that mark.

Many have said that Messi would be nothing without his Barca teammates. However, this season has revealed that Barca is now literally nothing without Messi. He needs some support. If we are lucky, Messi will never break another goal-scoring record again... because there will be other Barca players equally capable of scoring.

So, tonight is a sad night. This loss today did not come as a shock. It actually came as I expected - resoundingly. For someone who considers himself an obsessive, today was a painful day.  When I am enamored with someone or something, I go all in, and I hold that thing deeply and dearly. This team more than anything else has been that obsession for me the past few years. That obsession has not been without disappointment... especially in the past week.

Perhaps I should find a new passion? That may be easier said than done with this team.

I will leave you on a high note: Barca's last Champions' League title game from 2011.

Barca's level and style of play that day remind me why I love this team and explain - to borrow a quote from Heath Ledger's character from "Brokeback Mountain" - why I cannot quit Barca...

HOW YOU KNOW SPRING HAS ARRIVED IN PORTLAND...

Spring is heralded in many ways in different cities in this country: flowers blooming, birds singing, etc. However, in Portland unique signs indicate Spring's arrival. These are a few of my favorite rites of Portland's Spring. 

1) The smell of daphnes in my backyard even before the flowers have bloomed.
2) Ice clinking in everyone's reuseable coffee cups as temperatures become less frigid.
3) Parks filled with kids of all aging playing soccer... without mud puddles and lakes due to a break from the incessant rain.
4) Farmers' markets!
5) Neighbors returning outdoors doing yard work and chatting with each other.
6) Green grass that grows like weeds and that requires near weekly cutting... by our lawn guy. :)
7) Clear views of the mountains on a near-daily basis.



Doesn't it make you want to visit?

CITY UNDER SIEGE

Tonight, the second Boston Marathon bombing suspect is in custody and in critical condition. The other suspect, his brother, was killed late last night, ending a terrible, eventful week in that city.

Hopefully, facts and motives will emerge if the second suspect can be saved. It is hard to believe that any of us are hoping he actually lives, but that may be the only way to determine if other terrorist acts are in the works.

Whether he lives or dies, I am afraid that there will be not be satisfactory explanations for such horrendous and cowardly actions that culminated in a police manhunt and city lockdown. Most of us will never understand what could have motivated these men to hate, to maim, and to kill.

Boston and this country will be changed forever because of the actions of these two young men. However, Boston will emerge stronger and more united.  The world is with you Boston. Indeed, this sign says it all.

Be strong and sleep tight Boston! You deserve it after this week from hell...

PROFILES IN COWARDICE

Today, the United States Senate voted down several proposals that would have expanded gun control. The measures that failed to reach a 60 vote filibuster-proof majority included: 1) background checks favored by 90% of Americans, 2) a ban on high-capacity gun magazines, 3) and a ban on assault weapons that are the weapon of choice of both soldiers in battlefields and mass murderers in our schools and on our streets.

There were many victims or family members of victims of gun violence who were present in the Senate when the final votes were cast.  Among them was Ms. Patricia Maisch, a survivor of the the Virginia Tech shootings. Upon hearing the results of the vote, Ms. Maisch shouted, "Shame on You." I cannot think of three better words to describe how I am so many Americans feel about the cowardly 46 Senators, including 4 Democrats (Begich of Alaska, Pryor of Arkansas, Baucus of Montana, and Heitkamp of North Dakota), who failed to stand up for me, you, and our children.

In a stirring Op-Ed, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords echoed Ms. Maisch words -  Shame on you! - as she decried these legislators' cowardice.  These Senators helped defeat common sense today while helping the munitions manufacturers and their acolytes win.

President Obama was equally critical in a statement from the White House, which he gave while surrounded by families of those affected by gun violence.  The President said that this fight was not over despite the cowardice of these legislators. He said he would continue to fight for the dead, the maimed, and their loved ones.  He implored us to get involved and contact our congressional "leaders." I encourage you to do the same. Then, he became Comforter-in Chief and tried to provide some measure of solace to the grieving family members that had been affected by gun violence.

On a day when my own daughter's school felt compelled to conduct a "lock-down drill," it is hard to have faith in this country and in this world.  At Cate's school, the children were told that this exercise was about self-control and safety and that is was just practice. When I asked little Cate why they were practicing this drill, she merely said, "In case a stranger comes into my school." God forbid that might ever happen, but that is probably what the parents in Virgina Tech thought after Columbine or what the Newtown parents thought after Virgina Tech.

When will enough be enough?  What disaster must take place for gun owners and gun makers to be inconvenienced with greater gun regulation and oversight? How many lives are these "civil liberties" worth? To anyone who has lost a loved one or who is kept up at night worrying about their loved ones, the answer is that no other massacres should be necessary to effect change.

We have had a lot of tragedy lately - Boston, ricin-laced letters. However, the greatest tragedy is the unwillingness of our elected leaders to stand with us, to protect us, and to put politics behind principle.

I will not soon forget these 46 cowardly Senators, and I urge you to make them feel your scorn - not with firearms that they would let proliferate on your streets and your kids' schools - but at the ballot box. 2014 cannot come soon enough, and I will support any Democratic primary opponent on these cowards...

WE ARE ALL BOSTONIANS!

LASTING IMAGE

There have been many images plastered across television screens, webpages, and newspapers since the tragedy in Boston yesterday. However, one image has captivated me and so many people more than all the others. 

Martin Richard loved little league and spending time with his family, with whom he attended the Marathon annually. He was eight, the age Nicholas will turn in July.

The bomb took his life. However, his spirit and hopefully his message of peace, which he wrote after the tragedy in Newtown, will prevail in the days to come.

Sweet dreams little prince.

HEARTBREAK HILL

Today, bombs exploded in at least two locations near the the finish line of the Boston Marathon. A scene of celebration was rapidly transformed into a scene of carnage rivaling the horrors witnessed in war zones. Based upon the most recent reporting, at least two people have died and over 130 people have been injured - many of whom have lost limbs or whole parts of their bodies.

It is still unclear who is responsible for such a heinous and cowardly attack.  Finding out who perpetrated this disaster and why is the question of the day. However, even once the guilty are caught and their motives are clarified, our hurt and our spirits will remain shaken.

This is because sport and running, specifically, are the ultimate acts of freedom.  One only needs a pair of shoes and a surface to run.  In this country, the young, the old, men, women, and children are all free to run, to push themselves, and to test their limits in a race like the marathon.

I ran the New York City marathon in 2004. I was injured during that race and took several years to get back into running. However, I have no regrets about running and completing that 26.2 mile race. 

That race taught me about human perseverance in the face of pain - physical, mental, and emotional. That race taught me that I could do something that most people find unimaginable. That race taught me that we never walk or run alone. 

I still remember a young man my age - his bib had the name Dan it and said he was from Indiana - who helped carry me through the final miles.  Dan saw me struggling, half-walking, half-stumbling, and he encouraged me to keep going. We walked/ran for several miles, and our shared suffering and strength helped propel me forward.  Each of us knew nothing about the other, except that we were both runners and that we both needed a helping hand. That is the essence of the marathon for those who run it and those who cheer the runners on.

In many ways, our lives are marathons. We face steep uphill challenges like the crest of Boston's Heartbreak Hill. We have starts and stops. We sometimes fail and have to wait until the next year to accomplish our goals. However, we are never alone - in victory or defeat. To those who sought to terrorize us, we are terrified today by your violence. However, we know that we are not alone, and our solidarity will give us strength in the coming days.

Today, we are all Bostonians.  Even in New York City, the rival of all Boston rivals, fraternity replaced scorn. At the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a simple tribute was projected on the building's facade. It is shown below.

Tomorrow is a new day in America. Legions of runners like me will face that day tomorrow morning. We will be greeted not by darkness... but by light.