Word: spain
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...taking Spanish courses in a region where Spanish is not the primary language. While everyone here does speak the language, Catalan is more common, and almost all signs, ads, and menus are in Catalan. The weekend that we went to Madrid, I was reminded that I am actually in Spain...
During the European basketball championships last October, Spaniards exiting Madrid metro stations encountered Nike ads featuring Pau Gasol and his Spanish teammates with the caption: "Being Spanish is no longer an excuse, it's a responsibility." Spain played poorly in the final game, losing by a point to Russia. But that was a year ago. Today, as you tally up Gasol's appearance with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals in June, the Spanish soccer team's victory in the European Cup, Rafael Nadal's Wimbledon defeat of Roger Federer, and Carlos Sastre's triumph at the Tour...
...country's economy may be plummeting and its ethnic and linguistic unity cracking, but Spain's athletes head to the Beijing Olympics with newfound pride and self-assurance. "We're seeing a moment in which the country has overcome its longstanding self-perception in sports," says El País sportswriter Juan José Paradinas. "Before, Spaniards didn't see themselves as winners, but as they've won, they've gained confidence. The Spanish athlete - now he believes he's a champion...
...what makes a champion - and in Spain's case, so many? For some, the country's victory streak is largely coincidence. "In sports, there's always an element of luck," says Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal's coach and uncle. "Rafael could have beaten Federer last year and moved past him, just as he could have lost to Federer this year at Wimbledon. Circumstances and details shape you and in a given competition shape the outcome...
...Others see broader forces at work, forces that stem from Spain's relatively late transition to democracy. "Until recently, sports weren't important in Spain," explains sociologist David Moscoso, of the Institute for Advanced Social Studies. "They really only existed in private schools - they were for the elite." With democracy, says Moscoso, "sports moved into the public schools, and became something for everyone. Now, it's impossible to consider Spanish society without sports." The transformation has been dramatic. Spain now boasts 250,000 public sporting facilities, its best-selling newspaper, Marca, is a sports paper and 70% of its Olympic...