Can a WhatsApp group end historical rivalry between hobbies?

In LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank there are great clubs that, throughout history, have maintained a healthy rivalry. However, it turns out they were as close as a melody away. And, in the end, an experiment has shown that football, music and WhatsApp unite much more than any historical rivalry can distance.

Todo began with the staging of the sound identity of LaLiga and the experiment that derived from it: ‘42 Passions ’. This campaign was inspired by a previous one from the University of Göteborg in which they got the hearts of several people to be accompanied when they sang at the same time. From this idea, LaLiga designed his own experiment, for which he contacted followers of All teams of LaLiga Santander and LaLiga SmartBank, of different nationalities, until choosing one for each of the clubs. None of the 42 participants had much idea of ​​what they were going to participate in and, besides, they could not talk to each other or reveal which team they supported.

The recording was the past October 5, in Madrid. Fans were placed a bracelet to measure their pulsations. They were all in a circle and in the middle was the composer of the sound identity of LaLiga, Lucas Vidal. Together, they began to clap, sing the choirs and ended up playing the melody. Without them knowing, a cardiologist and several technicians monitored their hearts to see if they managed to synchronize or not. So it was! They were all dressed in black, but under their shirts were the shirts of their teams. “When we took them off, it was the most exciting time for me. And, from there, everything has already changed. We started talking and we haven't stopped until today, ”says Manuel, the follower of Real Valladolid CF who participated. And if they have not stopped it was because they decided to create a WhatsApp group to make it happen.

Manuel tells us that he is the grandfather of the group, but that he was as excited as he is. “Although they had told us very little about what we were going to do, I imagined that something had to do with music and my girlfriend, who sings in a choir, was giving me advice and I practiced with her,” he says while laughing, remembering it. And ensures that the idea of create the WhatsApp group It arose because, although they had really spent quite a lot of time together, for much of that time they had not been able to speak and had known little to them. “We already knew each other, so we wanted to keep in touch so that this friendship that had emerged continues,” he adds. Today, in fact, practically all the fans are still part of the group. And they have conversations on a daily basis, so that they continue very active from day one.

They say that Iván, follower of Atlético de Madrid, is the soul of the chat. Do not hesitate to rate it like this the other components that participate more in it. He is still nervous when he talks about the recording of ’42 passions ’. “When I listen to the soundtrack of LaLiga I can't help turning to it. It is already a melody that we consider as our own. Now, we each have 41 more friends. It's been almost four months and I would say that the relationship intensifies every day, ”he says. So much so that they do not miss any special date: “Last Wednesday was my birthday and everyone has congratulated me. Even Lucas (Vidal)! And you don't expect it, because they really are people you didn't know about anything a few months ago, ”he adds Elena, fan of Rayo Vallecanor.

Lucas Vidal, in fact, is also part of this group: “I did not want to lose, under any circumstances, being in a chat with 42 football fans at this level. And I have met people who defend their colors in an incredible way. But, in addition, they get along, they stay, everyone tells about their problems, their joys … And you realize that, indeed, football and LaLiga unite. Maybe we haven't conceived it like this since we were little, when we thought we were rivals. But quite the opposite. It is a sport from which many emotions are born that can also be shared with rivals. It is wonderful, ”he says.

The relationship goes far beyond football and explains Santiago, follower of Real Zaragoza. “From the beginning there was very good vibes among all. We talk about football, but also about other things. We share feelings that everyone has felt at certain times with our teams. For example, when a club is going through a bad run, others encourage their supporter by telling him how we overcome similar situations, ”he says. He says he considers himself a bit antisocial and that his wife is surprised, for good, that he now spends the day talking on WhatsApp with his new friends. Manuel even defines this relationship as that of a family: “If one of the knee boys is operated, then we care about him. And if someone goes on vacation, he tells us. ”

LUCAS VIDAL: “They defend their colors in an incredible way. They get along, stay, tell their problems, their joys … And you realize that, indeed, football and LaLiga unite ”

Logically, some have more affinity with some than others and, on certain occasions, the relationships that have formed are very curious. “I, for example, get along very well with Javi, from CD Tenerife. And I also talk a lot with Dani, from Cádiz CF and Marta, from Málaga CF. With Paul, from Getafe CF, I have even met several times, ”Iván explains. “Those who have become very friendly, for example, have been the girl of RCD Espanyol and the boy of FC Barcelona. And that it cost her a lot, at first, that it was from the culé team. Now, however, they are intimate. And the boy from Tenerife, Javi, has a lot of relationship with some of us from Madrid and with the girl from the UD Las Palmas, ”adds Elena.

Some relationships that, in addition to the WhatsApp group, are being fed thanks to the hangouts that organize, either when traveling with clubs or for leisure. “I went on a trip to Malaga and stayed there with Marta. And last week we were a few here in Madrid, ”explains Elena. “We managed to keep the fans of Atlético de Madrid, Getafe, Rayo, CD Leganés and even the Real Sporting de Gijón, who caught him in Madrid for work,” adds Iván. They also expect to organize a more massive meeting in June and, if they can't all come because they are aware that there are many to agree, they expect as many fans as possible to attend.

A new way of watching football

If they all agree on something, it is that, after living together ’42 Passions ’, they have no choice but to interpret football differently. “We are all football fans and, logically, we are fans of our teams. But it has completely changed our perspective on how we see the other clubs and their followers. This season I am 50 years old as a member of Valladolid and I never thought this would happen to me. The passion I feel for my team has not diminished, but now I see the rivals as my teammates and friends. It is one of the most positive consequences that the experiment has left us, ”says Manuel.

And in a very similar way Elena and Iván think. “Without a doubt, the way we see football has changed. When you are fond, rivalries always appear, but it seems that all of that has been forgotten and you no longer only think of Betis as a team, but of the person behind. Now you don't think of Espanyol, now you think of Maria. And thus, a much healthier rivalry is born, ”he says. “We are a group of friends that we have met in a place that we were not going to imagine in life and, although there are piques, because football is passion and that we have never stopped feeling it, we encourage each other. I don't know what has changed us, it's a very curious relationship. But I can say that today we are 42 people, 42 friends, spread throughout Spain, ”explains Iván. One more way to confirm that, as this campaign says, ‘When we feel together, we feel bigger’.