Carnival drums set the stage for an unexpected victory over the league leaders, which was not merely a matter of luck.
“There was a little magic in the atmosphere,” said Pellegrino Matarazzo. Real Sociedad’s new coach sensed it; he heard it too—the sound of drums filling the city’s streets and echoing into the stadium that had already welcomed him warmly. Upon arriving at Anoeta on Sunday evening, Matarazzo and his players were greeted by a guard of honor, a line of soldiers and chefs drumming the club anthem in the rain, filled with hope. By the time they left around midnight, following 35,346 supporters out into San Sebastián, victory had been claimed. La Real triumphed 2-1 over Barcelona. Celebrations, as captain Mikel Oyarzabal pointed out, had started a day early.
This week marks tamborrada, the San Sebastián festival where, at midnight on January 20th, the city flag is raised, and marching bands parade through the streets in Napoleonic uniforms and cooks’ costumes, wielding sticks, batons, and giant cutlery, with routes meticulously planned and highlighted in special supplements. Initially a light-hearted imitation of a military parade and a prelude to carnival, practice echoes around the city in the preceding days, starting with children, then adults. A celebration of civic pride, they sing of “spreading joy,” being “always happy,” and indeed, happiness overflowed now. What better way to kick off the festivities than with this victory? What better way to become one of their own?
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- Source: SCCGManagement.com