Joder! A story to tell the grandkids una dia...

Words won't do justice to what I just saw. So I have a midterm tomorrow in my Spanish class and I was feeling a little tired, so I decided to take my work to my local watering hole and enjoy a café con leche and study. Keep in mind I live 5 minutes walk from Estadium de Vincent Calderon where Atletico Madrid plays. It’s a game night, so my street was barricaded and the policia were directing traffic. As I walk towards the bar I hear drums and chants coming towards Sol area…thinking it was a pre-game rally for Atletico, I followed the noise like a moth to light. The sound grew louder as I approached the group and the first thing I see was a massive flare go off and unfamiliar chants. I see a mob of yellow and red approach and see that its definitely not the familiar red and white stripes of atletico. I ducked into a windowsill to watch the crowd go by. The drums and chants made them seem like an army. I saw a couple Madrinelonos give them some unkind words, but it was relatively peaceful. They marched down the road, and a policia was trying to let the cars go by, which were at a standstill. About ten feet away from me, a un policia got into a shoving match with a very drunken Turkish guy. All of a sudden, hell broke loose. A group of around 20 came to the aid of the drunken Turk, and a riot ensued. I was so close to the action that the beer bottles that were being tossed at the cops were spraying me. The shop window I was leaning against shattered. The Turks swarmed the 5 policeman armed with batons. The Turks that weren’t beating on the cops were smashing windows of cars and taxis that were in the streets. A man picked up a yellow blockade and threw it at the policemen. The bars and shops immediately drew their metal shutters and locked their doors. I ran towards a plaza to get a little distance between me and the riot as it grew bigger and more violent. All of a sudden, I became deaf in my right ear. Gunshots. It was so loud I literally checked myself for bullet holes. I looked and a policia with a shotgun was firing warning shots in the air and the Turks surrounding him backed off with each shot. I was so close to the gunfire, I picked up two shotgun shells as souvenirs.
They smell like the fourth of july.

I was shaking at this point, and as more back up came, the Turks fled towards the stadium and a couple were handcuffed and bloodied. I felt very defensive of the Policia Madrid and angry at the turks for trashing my city, and as I left,
I went up to a handcuffed Turk and said Atletico, Motherfucker.

The cop said Fuera! (leave!). I ran home to get my camera and my room mate Kenny.
I was able to get a couple of pics, but by the time I got back, their were around 100 policia in riot gear with about 30 armored trucks surrounding the mob, they had it under control.

We followed the Turks to the stadium, where they were escorted into the stadium by the riot squad. I walked back to the house to grab mis libros and headed back to the bar. I asked the bartender if it that chaos was normal, he laughed and said yes, their will be more luchar “fights” after the game. I asked if gunfire was normalmente and he said yes and laughed again. I studied in the bar while drinking coffee and watching the game. We scored a goal in the 22nd minute off a penalty kick, and the camera cut to a shot of the Turkish fans leaping over security to fight the crowd. They are insane! Unfortunamente, the Turks scored in the 70th minute and the game ended 1-1. I have a final tomorrow. Saw gunshots tonight. Got a great souvenir. Adios Amigos.