In Paris, we have touched the sky
May 13th, 2010
En parís, hemos tocado el cielo
Hello Everyone!
How you are?
As it could not be any other way, today I dedicate the blog to the F4!
We are the champions of Europe and it has been a unique experience.
We carried on for weeks preparing for this big event, and we were aware of the pressure for what was about to come, Monday. Maybe not a lot yet, but a little bit, yes!!! Eh!
Monday, a little before the coach and I, had to attend to the media and speak to them for about 40 minutes, I was starting to realize that this was going huge event, because the whole world was watching.
Wednesday, we set out on our trip after coaching. A trip without any type of problems we weren’t already expecting, well until the end, (but I will fill you in later). At night, we have dinner and we play a little game of cards to relax and to entertain us a little.
Thursday, we went to shoot in the morning and later, Xavi Paschal and I went to a press conference. The club gives us a suit at the beginning of season. And I have to say, we have not even had the chance to put it to use. This it was the first time that I ever had to wear it, and had not even tried it on, to see if it fit before, haha! So I was a little surprised, but turns out, that suit fit me perfect. But, I had to wear it without a belt, since I had forgot to pack one with my things (not being used to it)…. But at least I had a tie, eh! !! However, Uri the leader of press, for the club, had to tie it for me…
The press conference took place in the City Hall of Paris” L’ Hotel of Ville”, as soon I laid my eyes on it, it was so beautiful and brilliant, that I didn’t even want to touch it!
In the afternoon, we train and already we can feel the pressure.
Friday, the big day had arrived. After a filming session in the morning, we went to shoot a little. Later some food, a little nap and we prepared to go to the game. When the hour to play arrived, and we began to feel a little nervous, more nervous than I had felt the entire time, and when the referee launched the ball into the air, I began to feel the pressure of the “little butterflies in my stomach.” But after those first few minutes, I lost myself into the game. We had a chance to win this game, and it was a really tough game, with a lot of pressure on us. The honor was enormous, and the fact is, that the two last times that the Barça had played at the F4, the CSKA had eliminated us. UGH!!!
We had to win this… and we did.
Lo pasé muy bien con los niños en la tienda Nike de París
Saturday, in the morning I went the Nike Store of Paris, to attend to the children that had won a contest. They asked me some questions and I made quite the impression on them. In the afternoon, we touched base with our coach and quickly went back to the hotel, because we had to join Juan Carlos from Navarre, and Erazem Lorbek, to go to the City Hall of Paris for the awards ceremony.
Sunday 9, “THE DAY.”
The Finals, had finally come and I could feel it all around us. We were a part of an event that will go down in history. A little shooting in the morning, a filming session, dinner and then a little nap… It suddenly dawned on me that I have not had much sleep the past few days, because I had been so nervous. I had always dreamt of obtaining the Euroleague, and I was living my dream…
The game finally arrived, and what a game! We played a great game and we beat the Olympiacos, by 18!! It was a celebration of the TEAM, for we all contributed and strived for the same goal in the end. We were all thrilled and ready to celebrate it. We had a celebration dinner with our relatives, the people who had accompanied us on this journey, and also my friends who did not want to be left out of the excitement of Paris. This was where a dent was put in the Cup, a noticeable dent, but not to worry, it can be fixed, haha!
The next day, with smiles from ear to ear, we headed back to the airport. There, our flight was delayed 2 hours. I guess we can’t win everything! We knew that there was a festival in Palau and all our fans were waiting for us to celebrate our victory. But because of the great delay, we were afraid that everyone would get tired of waiting for us and leave. But when we arrived, it was such a surprise to find so many people still waiting with a very warm and enthusiastic, “welcome” home. Thank you to all of our fans!
When I finally arrived home, I put the Cup amongst all the other trophies we’ve won, but I couldn’t help but put this one in the middle!!!
It was by all means, an incredible experience and now we hope to culminate this season with the ACB.
!!Let’s go for it!!!
A hug
Ricky
