Word: spanishing
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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...
...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...
...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 medal haul has come in the last four summer games...
...Broader participation in sports seems to have spun a unique thread of national identity as well. Spanish athletes often use their moment of glory to give a nod to the patria. After winning Wimbledon, Nadal ran to embrace his coach and family, then stepped into the next box to greet Spain's Prince Felipe and Princess Leticia, thanking them by name minutes later while addressing the crowd from center court. Sastre spoke on Spain's national evening news of his pride in bringing glory to his country. Through sports Spaniards seem able to find a sense of national identity that...
...Nike is still marketing Spanish athletes, but its advertisements no longer surprise anyone. Now "they reflect how most Spaniards see themselves," says Moscoso, "as part of the sports elite...