Interviews
THU 23.02.2023
Each day before an FC Barcelona match, Dimas Reyes Jr. sets his alarm for 11:59 p.m.
“At that time, I have to switch out to a Barcelona shirt,” he says.
With four shirts in his rotation, Reyes puts on an FC Barcelona shirt at midnight of matchday. Then as kickoff approaches, he swaps his shirt for either Barça’s home or away kit depending where the match is being played. So if the club is playing at Camp Nou, Reyes wears the home kit while the away one sits comfortably on display next to him during the match to “bring the away juju with me as well.”
Win, lose or draw, Reyes keeps that shirt on until midnight before being able to swap it out. He never wears the shirts outside of his routine, which seems to clearly be working as FC Barcelona sit atop LaLiga with 59 points—eight points ahead of rivals Real Madrid—heading into Matchday 23.
“I do it for the whole season and if they keep winning, I don’t wash the shirt,” he says. “One time they were on like a 16-game win streak and my shirt was definitely getting there.”
Growing up in North Bergen, N.J., Reyes was first introduced to FC Barcelona when he was about 8 years old and attended one of the Catalan club’s preseason friendlies against the New York Red Bulls.
He was surprised to see more people cheering for the Spanish side from more than 3,000 miles away rather than the American club in their own backyard.
“You could see everyone dressed up in Barcelona shirts and to me at that age it was strange that everyone would root for the team not from America,” he says. “ … Since then, I joined the Barcelona fandom.”
Reyes, an avid gamer who goes by EL_P4PIR3YE5, had the opportunity to play against Atlético Madrid forward João Félix in the 2022 eLaLiga All-Star Challenge.
Unsurprisingly, Reyes played as his favorite club against Félix’s Atléti, winning 4-1. Reyes eventually won the entire tournament and earned a trip to Spain to watch FC Barcelona play in person.
He was in attendance at Camp Nou for Barça’s 3-0 win against Sevilla FC on February 5, and, maybe more importantly, added a few more items to his pregame rotation.
“To be honest, it was unreal,” Reyes says. “Going to Barcelona and going to see my dream team play was something I'd never expect in my life. I had actually written to go to Camp Nou in my notes when I was younger, so my dream came true. It’s still unreal to me that I was there.”
FULL SERIES:
A Breakaway from Household Support
Real’s remontadas roped in this fan
Unexpected Encounter Leads to Unforgettable Experience
Sevilla Fandom Comes Full Circle
UD Almería unites community in New Jersey
Basque Roots Grow in Meaning for Boise Student
Local peña helps Celta Vigo fans overcome morriña
San Diego, the Birthplace of the first Cádiz Peña in the U.S.
Fate, luck and curiosity brought this fan to Atleti
Real Sociedad fandom blossoming in Boise
Growing up in awe of Sánchez, Real Madrid
Ortegas proudly promote Real Betis around the globe
¡Vamos mi Sevilla! ¡Vamos Nueva York!
Mexico’s Márquez Converted This Culé
Covid can’t stop this Valencia CF socio
Living near the Bernabéu led to this fan loving Real Madrid
How a U.S. Elementary School Principal Helped Save Real Oviedo
Growing the Beautiful Game in Montreal and Beyond
Uruguay’s Forlán Helped This Fan Fall in Love With Atleti
© LALIGA - 2023