Elegy to Barca

I'll keep this one short. Barcelona managed to take away the city-wide celebration that everyone had been long expecting by finally making official their historic collapse. This was mostly done last week, as I reported, when they managed to salvage a tie from the jaws of victory against an inferior Espanyol side. This week, although Barca beat up on the worst team in the league, Madrid also won their game (in another dramatic second half comeback, just to fuck with us) so they win the 2007 Liga by virtue of a tiebreaker over Barca.
The papers this week have been dissecting the dramatic ending to no end, and have wasted no time prognosticating the big moves this off-season. There is general consensus among the pathetic writers who make their living talking about soccer that, while Madrid made an excellent, perhaps inspired, run to close out the season, Barcelona blew the league through a combination of overconfidence (which led to one too many ties), overexertion (too many stupid promotional tours in addition to a grueling international schedule), and devastating injuries to stars (Messi and Eto'o out 2 months each). Being a Cule myself (Barcelona fan), I could give even more excuses, and tell you why this Madrid doesn't deserve the title, but what's the point?
The point is that Barcelona made one too many mistakes and I didn't get to crown my great weekend with a frickin victory parade down the Ramblas, with all of Barcelona drinking in the streets, setting off fireworks, and praising their heroes as they drive by slowly on a double decker bus, grinning wildly and spraying cava every which way. Not that I dreamed about the moment or anything.
Instead, Barcelona was awfully quiet on Monday, save for the handful of rival Espanyol and Madrid fans (they're everywhere) who roamed the streets defiantly, screaming and setting off fireworks. And of course it even rained for the first time since I've been here (though the rain was a nice respite from the heat on the beach, in all honesty). Madrid has won their 30th league crown, overrated Raul gets to wrap a Spanish flag around the monument at Cibeles, and Tom Cruise is rewarded for attending the match to cheer for his new neighbor and buddy, Dave Beckham. I'm actually a fan of Becks, but still: somebody shoot me.