Pink to make the boys go hhuuhhh?

This week has been a bit of a strange one here in Barcelona. We had a holiday smack bang in the middle of the week that was a scorcher! 33 degrees in October and a wee dip in the sea! So what better place for your fave football scarf and top, yup on the beach in the sun!

This weeks "Paella and Bovril" is from Raith's home game against Partick which saw two goals at home in the league for a while! 

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL TEAM AND IT'S MATCH DAY PROGRAMME AND THE TEAM THAT MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Enjoy this tasty plate of Paella and Bovril

Paella and Bovril

October has really crept up on me here in Barcelona. September was a whirlwind of fiestas and fireworks and I was slightly shocked when I took a wee dip in the Med last week that it was a wee bit chilly on the tootsies. Summer is on its way out. Some of the locals are sporting their winter scarves already. I would like to say that it is 26 degrees most days, and sunny, but for some this is far too cold for shorts. If this was in Scotland the air would be alive with the smell of BBQs and gardens full of dads with their tops off ! But no, to some here 26 is the start of those cold winter months! I am ashamed to say that I have become a bit of a sissy local and have put away the shorts, and wear the flip-flop only at the weekends, but in my defense the cooler days have me out and about in  my new Raith away top. Now, I like this twist on the traditional away colours and it has most certainly been turning a few heads here in Barcelona; I was even stopped the other day on the way to work! My daily metro journey happens to involve one of the longest transfers from one line to the other in the city, Passieg de Gracia! It is a 500 m concrete grey tunnel that some mornings can go on forever. Most mornings it is head down, earphones in and think of the nice coffee machine in work!  So you can imagine how high I jumped when I was tapped on the shoulder. It was an average looking 30 something on his way to work but his face was very very confused. He was pointing at my top and mouthing something. I removed AC/DC from my ears and give him the standard "Que?". He started again " ¿de que equipo?" He had stopped me in the morning traffic to enquire about the mighty Pink of the Rovers! I got myself ready for my best Catalan/Spanish pronunciation of eeeeeeRrrraith eeRrroooverrrrs and prepared my self for the large “Who the beep is that?”! I give him a quick guide to the Rovers of Scotland but on the word Escòcia he shrugged and walked away. Now normally the Catalans love  Scotland but it seems that Scottish football ain't getting in on that love. If only if I had had a camera, would it not have made a brilliant and possibly "too" fitting a image of scottish football, people walking way from the game we love.

But why are people leaving our footballing grounds? In these times odd times of crisis is it a surprise that when tightening the purse strings, luxury entertainment gets squeezed out. But if the fans are feeling the pinch surely the clubs feel like they are being punched. Everyone lower down the football food chain is struggling. At times like this I start to feel further away from Stark's Park and wish I could have the best of both worlds, Barcelona thru the week and Raith "live" at the weekends.

In my youth I was Rovers mad. I had my season ticket, travelled my family round the grounds of Scotland and had strips n kits galore. I even found an old top whilst at home, the tartan third strip from many moons ago ( going to freak the locals out later with that one ). I was innocent to the logic of fan buy season ticket fan giving money to club, I just wanted to see football most weekends and loved going to the Rovers. Now living in Barcelona I see Raith once or twice a season and get my strip sent in the post, does this make me any less a fan? If only I could get a virtual season ticket! Now as owner of the standard council tele here in Barcelona, living in a building that can not have a satellite dish, paying over 70Euros for my Internet, I get most of my football over the Internet, I am an original iFan. But would I take it further and become a fee paying iFan? Some clubs have tried to set up TV stations and encourage those who can't make the match to help the club by paying at the virtual turnstile to see their team play. I have used it myself and must admit I was skeptical about doing so, TV football these days is multiple dimensional ultra definitional surrounded by sound technological onslaught, club TV is one camera! But no amount of mega pixels can compete with thrill of watching YOUR club! Now I know nothing about how this club TV works, the cost or what it involves so would never dream of demanding that this is a solution to club problems. But I would love a virtual season ticket to pass thru the turnstile each week and you know, the weekend you can not make it, or for those who can not get there would it not be just a wee bit cool and very futuristic to be any where in the world and singing with best of ‘em!