Stadium http://www.sportales.com/tags/Stadium New posts about Stadium FC Barcelona: Where Did It Get Its Colours From? http://www.sportales.com/Soccer/FC-Barcelona-Where-Did-It-Get-Its-Colours-From.327449 FC Barcelona is one of the best known football or soccer clubs in the world. One of the questions coming up every now and then is: How did it come by the colours blue and red?

The discussion about these colours has been going on almost as long as the club existed. There are several hypotheses being put forth in books, in the net and by TV stations. I will try to sort it out by what might be at least plausible. Some very weird claimants have appeared while I searched the net. The one person who never commented on it was Joan (or Hans) Gamper, one of the founders of the club and five times its president.

Hans Gamper was born near Zurich in Switzerland and moved to Barcelona in 1898. 1899 he co-founded the club together with local English and Spanish friends. The colours and the coat of arms were adopted at that time and there are no records on the issue. The colours are blue and red as seen on the shirt of 2006/2007 below.

Hans Gamper had been a member of FC Basel in Switzerland founded in 1893. As he was also its playing captain in the year prior to his move to Barcelona, a connection is at least plausible. FC Basel has the colours blue and red as seen on the shirt of 2006/2007 below. Depending on the language you read it in, Wikipedia either agrees, tentatively agrees, or refutes this claim.

Some people claim that the colours are the national colours of the State and Republic of Ticino in Switzerland. They are partly correct, as the colours of FC Basel derive from that source. As an older club had already claimed the colours black and white, the colours of Ticino were chosen, as these two states had traditionally very close ties. As you see from the coat of arms, the use had been inverted by the founders of FC Basel. This inversion makes the claim of FC Basel more acceptable to me than the Ticino version, as FC Barcelona colours are inverted as well.

Further claims I found were those made by FC Zurich in Switzerland, as Gamper was one of the co-founders of that club in 1896. The club's colours are blue and white; the red seemingly just appeared out of thin air. Wikipedia in English claims Mersey FC as donator of the colours. Why, nobody knows. There are many other curious stories on the net. Most probably the colours were chosen on a whim y the founders without any thought to precedents.

Barcelona has the largest stadium in Europe, containing up to 98,000 fans. It is also held in the colours of blue and red. It is known by the name of Camp Nou, though it should have been named Camp Joan Gamper in 1957. Dictator Franco vetoed the name on grounds of personal hatred against the founder of FC Barcelona.

Basel has the largest stadium in Switzerland containing up to 40,000 fans. It is also held in blue and red. It is officially named St Jacobs Park, but nobody bothers with that. It is just called ‘Joggeli' (pronounce it ‘yoggaelee') in Alemannic.

As both clubs are currently playing against each other in the European Champions League, the colour question has been readdressed from all sides. FC Barcelona's archives give no answer to the question, wherefore we may look forward to many more discussions of this topic.

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 02:46:17 PST New York Mets Bullpen http://www.sportales.com/Baseball/New-York-Mets-Bullpen.228643 The New York Mets have a great team. They have great starting pitching, hitting, and defense. They lack relief pitching. Their bullpen includes A. Heilman, L. Ayala, D. Sanchez, P. Feliciano, S. Schoeneweis, B. Stokes, and J. Smith. The bullpen ERA is over 5.00. Aaron Heilman, is considered to have the best talent in the bullpen but is not producing. The bullpen has no luck and they have no stuff on their pitches. The bullpen is hurting the team. The hot Phillies are creeping up on the back of the New York Mets for 1st place. John Maine is expected to be out for the season. The New York Mets bats need to continue producing runs and hits for any chance of a postseason run. Billy Wagner is the closer of the Mets but is expected back in a few weeks from a strained left forearm if he is feeling healthy. He currently has 27 saves, 2.30 ERA, and 52 strikeouts for the Mets this year. The Mets hope to have Billy Wagner back very soon to help out.

]]> Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:55:47 PST Short Rundown of Ted Williams http://www.sportales.com/Baseball/Short-Rundown-of-Ted-Williams.182745 Early Years

Ted was born in San Diego as Teddy Samuel Williams. He was named after his father Samuel Stuart Williams. His birth certificate was changed to Theodore, but everyone called him Teddy still. Him and his family were a mix of Welsh and Irish. He lived on San Diego's North Park at 4121 Utah Street. He attended Herbert Hoover High School. He played baseball at his high school. While in high school he had offers from the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees. He didn't go to play with them because his mother thought he was too young to leave home, so he signed with the Padres, a local minor league team.

Main Accomplishments

Ted played for the Boston Red Sox and was accepted in 1939. He caused the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox. He was on the all-time and all-century team. He was given the American League MVP Award. He was in the 500 home run club. His number was retired in 1984 and he was elected it into the baseball hall of fame in 1966.

Goals

The main goal on Ted Williams was to be the best hitter in baseball, and he was. He was successful because he made his goal a reality. He was influenced to keep going to baseball because he was very good in his high school baseball career.

Major Influences

He influenced kids to be very good at baseball and possibly even influence people to make it to the major leagues. He made people try and copy his swing. He influenced people to come and watch him play because he was such a good ball player. He also influenced pitchers to throw very aggressively, in order to strike him out and not let him get a hit.

Personal Opinion

I think that this person was very successful in his life. He was one of the best baseball players in the history of baseball. He was successful because he made his dreams reality. He made many baseball accomplishments, like MVP, got his number retired, etc. His accomplishments show how much of a good baseball player he was in his lifetime.

]]> Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:50:09 PST The Seven Wonders of European Football http://www.sportales.com/Soccer/The-Seven-Wonders-of-European-Football.97078 Football is everywhere in Europe, everywhere where the hearts still beats, everywhere where the people still breathe. Seemingly, as long as the Earth turns and man lives, football will be a major source of entertainment. This is somehow related to the nature of man.

For example, I feel better when I am in Istanbul's Inonu Stadium than when I am in my office or home. This article is about the wonders of football. If you think that I am going to talk about players, you are wrong. This is about the stadiums where the heart of football is. There are many wonderful stadiums in Europe, but only seven of them are included.

  1. Wembley Stadium (United Kingdom)



    2. It is located in London. It is primarily used for the matches of England's National Team and the final match of FA Cup. It is used for not only football matches but also concerts and other sporting events. The capacity of Wembley is approximately 90000. It is the largest stadium in the world every seat under cover.

  2. Old Trafford Stadium United Kingdom)



    3. It is the stadium of famous British football club Manchester United. They are also known as “Red Devils”. It was designed by famous Scottish architect Archibald Leitch. Old Trafford has a capacity of 76212 seats. It was opened in 1910 but it was restored many times. It witnessed the final matches of FA Cup, Champions League semifinal matches of Red Devils and World Cup organizations.

  3. Giuseppe Meazza (Sansiro) Stadium (Milano)



    It is the home stadium of A. C Milan and F. C Internazionale which are the two most successful teams of Italy in both nationwide and worldwide. It takes his name from famous Italian player Giuseppe Meazza. It witnessed the final matches of Italy League, Italy Cup, Italy Super Cup, final and semifinal matches of European Champions League and UEFA Cup. The capacity of San Siro is 82955. Many famous singers (Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana, Robbie Williams, etc.) and music groups (Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Duran Duran, Genesis, Ligabue, etc.) gave concerts in San Siro.

  4. Roma Olympic Stadium (Roma)



    5. It is the football stadium where Roma, Lazio and Italian National Team play their matches. It was built in 1936 in Roma. The capacity of Roma Olympic Stadium is 82307. It witnessed 1960 Summer Olympics, 1987 World Athletics Championships and 1990 Fifa World Cup. It is announced that Roma Olympic Stadium is the host of Champions League final in 2009.

  5. Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid)



    6. It is the stadium of famous Spanish football club Real Madrid. It takes this name from the club president of Real Madrid in 1950's. It has a capacity of 80400. It hosted the European Cup finals in 1957, 1969 and 1980, European Championship final in 1964 and Fifa World Cup final in 1980. Santiago Bernabeu is the heart of Madrid.

  6. Camp Nou (Barcelona)



    7. It is the stadium of famous Catalan football club F. C Barcelona. It was constructed in1957. With the capacity of 98772, it is one of the 5-star rated stadiums of UEFA. It hosted European Champions League final and semifinal matches. Michael Jackson, U2, Frank Sinatra, Julio Iglesias, Bruce Springsteen and Luciano Pavarotti gave concerts in Camp Nou. Especially Frank Sinatra's concert in Nou Camp was unforgetable.

  7. Stade De France (Paris)



    8. It is the home of France's National Team. It is located in Saint-Dennis which is one of the inner suburbs of Paris. It's construction costs 285 million pounds and it has a capacity of 80000. It hosted 2003 World Championship in athletics, 1999 World Cup in rugby. It also hosted 1998 Fifa World Cup final match between France and Brazil teams. In this match, France defeated Brazil by three goals.

]]> Sun, 23 Mar 2008 10:28:52 PST "Rocktober" and Fast Facts About Colorado Rockies Baseball http://www.sportales.com/Baseball/Rocktober-and-Fast-Facts-About-Colorado-Rockies-Baseball.51776 With a mountain gust strongly pushing them forward, it is hard not to talk about what the Colorado Rockies have accomplished this season…

On October 6, the Rockies rounded out a three-game sweep against the Philadelphia Phillies to capture their first National League Division Series title in franchise history.

What is even more interesting, is that Colorado is now on pace for their first ever National League Championship. The Rockies play again at Coors Field tonight, holding onto a two-game lead, facing the National League's top-ranked Arizona Diamondbacks, who are trying to slither their way back into another World Series matchup against either the Boston Red Sox or Cleveland Indians.

However, winning is not the only thing that intrigues people about Colorado baseball. Here are some quick facts surrounding this organization that one may or may not have known:

Devotion

The Colorado Rockies hold the largest total home game attendance in one single season. In 1993, over 4.4 millions fans walked through the gates of their old home, Mile High Stadium, at an average of 55,350 people per game. The Toronto Blue Jays attracted over 4 million baseball enthusiasts to the SkyDome for two consecutive seasons in 1991 and 1992, but it wasn't enough to climb past Colorado's milestone.

What's in a name?

From 1976-1982, the present New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL), played under the name “Colorado Rockies”. This is the only team name to ever be used by both an NHL and a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. Following the 1982 hockey season, Denver did not host another professional hockey team until the Colorado Avalanche, who moved in from Quebec, won the Stanley Cup title in their first season during 1996. The Avalanche still call Denver home as we speak.

Rocky Mountain High

When walking into Coors Field, there is an abundance of green seats, except for one single row nearing the peak of the stadium. This is the 20th row in the upper deck of Coor's Field. All of the seats in this entire row are purple as it signifies the mile high, mark in Denver.

The “Coors Field Effect”

It has been scientifically proven that baseballs travel further in thin air, thus, making Coor's Field a hitter's park. During 1999, Coor's Field had the most home runs hit in a single season, at one stadium, in MLB history, with 303. According to the statistics on Colorado's team website, a ball hit 408 feet in Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, could travel up to 440 feet in Coor's Field.

Where the dinosaurs roam…

Prehistoric evidence of dinosaur bones was found near home plate during the 1994 excavation of Coors Field. The story of “Dinger”, Colorado's mascot, who is also a dinosaur, derives from this significant discovery.

So there you have it...a collection of facts that one may or may have not known about Colorado Rockies baseball. Right now, the big focus is on the team's recent success, but it never hurts to learn something new along the way.

For more information on Rockies baseball, please visit the team's website, or simply visit the city of Denver. This is a beautiful place, and it has a lot to offer.

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