Casa Juancho & World Cup & Gol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miami loves soccer!  And hell, so do I.... especially with all the drinking and yahooing going on during World Cup (minus the Vuvuzelas thank you very much)!

And to my fellow Miami fans.... check out this tidbit from www.majorleaguesoccertalk.net:

According to Nielsen, viewers in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market are watching the World Cup more than any other market in the country. Through Tuesday, Miami has the highest ratings for both English language (3.6 HH rating) and Spanish language (5.2 HH rating) World Cup telecasts.


True Stat!


So, during the Spain-Germany match I found myself out with some colleagues at a Spanish Restaurant in Little Havana - Casa Juancho.  Having just been to Madrid last month, I can honestly say this place is truly the place to go for authentic Spanish food, and crazy Spanish Soccer Fan watching when Spain is in the Semi-Finals.  
So here is my "motley crew." Federico seemed to think it would be a good idea to "video tape" the taking of the picture.  I would LOVE to see the hours of footage he has on video based on this choice of subject.... assuredly riveting (NOT!).  But I digress..... all of us are in the wine business (translate: love to drink wine), all of us are soccer fans.  But only 1/3 of us capable of uttering anything useful in Spanish.  (And, I'm "uni-lingual" if that helps you figure out the ratio).  I can ask for the bathroom and a cocktail in Spanish, Japanese and French, so I suppose those are useful skills.


Anyway, after a few glasses, we start the game off with this guy from the Spanish version of ESPN:  Not only is this the worst tie I've EVER seen in my LIFE - are those soccer balls underneath Asian Alphabet Characters of some kind?  But does he own a mirror?  (Or a razor?)  And is he friends with Tom Selleck?  Someone get him a piano tie PRONTO - the Grammy's are coming......

Well, kickoff happens and the eating begins.....with boccorones (Spanish white anchovies) and grilled razor clams.  Oh and paella, pulpo, and Catalan stew (not pictued -- too late!).

This is me totally interested in a major sporting event
(or maybe it was the cute foreign men in shorts sweating like super heroes saving babies).

And then SNAP!  Spain wins 1-0!

This is what Spaniards look like when they win the Semi-Finals.

And being a non-Spaniard, I hug fake roosters when they win:

In conclusion, I love you Miami.  I love you too, Spanish people living in Miami.  See you Sunday at Casa Juancho (www.casajuancho.com) at 24th and Calle Ocho for the Spain-Netherlands match.  And if you are wondering who to root for?  Spain makes better wine.  Trust me on this one, the celebratory beverage will be FAR better.