Postcard from Madrid: My grand tour of fabled Bernabéu Stadium

MADRID — When in doubt about how to start a postcard, it’s often wise (or a sign of a lack of creativity) to Google “Spanish proverbs” and hope something hits.

Or, as the Spanish say, “El que lee mucho y anda mucho, ve mucho y sabe mucho.” (He who reads a lot and travels a lot, sees a lot and knows a lot.)

As I share the happenings of our second day in Madrid, you can judge for yourself whether the aphorism (which comes from the seminal novel “Don Quixote”) is applicable to your humble correspondent (particularly the “knows a lot” part).

I took a tour arranged for media of the famed Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, home of world soccer power Real Madrid and the site of the Falcons game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Opened in 1947, Bernabéu has evolved over the years, including a massive renovation in recent years that included the metallic facade and the retractable pitch system (you can see a graphic of it here) that I wrote about in my latest column.

It is a jewel.

NFL director of fields Nick Pappas likened it to an NFL stadium, and I thought that was an apt comparison. It does look like one, down to the retractable roof. Capacity exceeds 80,000.

It is an impressive venue whose history only adds to its mystique. Real Madrid is arguably the top club in the world; many of the world’s best players have donned its jersey, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.

In North American sports, the club is probably best likened to the New York Yankees or the Montreal Canadiens, except that Real Madrid has continued to win championships.

What is also appealing about Bernabéu is that it’s in the middle of a busy section of Madrid, perhaps a little bit like Wrigley Field.

No massive parking lots here.

Among its neighbors are this Subway and, a few doors down, the nicest Taco Bell I think I’ve ever seen.

This trophy is in a museum within the stadium. I give credit to professional soccer for having much better trophies (in my opinion) than the NFL, NBA and MLB, though not the NHL, because the Stanley Cup might be the best trophy in all of sports.

This is the 2026 Teresa Herrera Trophy, awarded to the winner of a preseason tournament in the city of A Coruña. (Herrera was an 18th-century Spanish philanthropist. It makes me wonder who would bear the name of a hypothetical NFL preseason trophy. Andrew Carnegie?)

That said, I didn’t see a trophy with a functioning toaster, the cherished prize for winning the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

More from the tour. The Bengals will locker in Real Madrid’s locker room, while the Falcons will dress in a temporary room that normally serves as the mixed zone, where media wait for players to pass through for postgame interviews.

In my experience, in mixed zones, media wait behind a fence while players pass through a gauntlet on the way to the locker room under no compunction to stop, which thankfully is an arrangement that has yet to establish itself in the U.S.

(Unrelated, but I’ve always thought that “The Mixed Zone” would be a good name for a nightclub.)

This faux-tile sign is outside the Falcons locker room and elsewhere in the stadium. I thought it was really well done, a design that, even in its simplicity, evokes Spain.

I also thought it would be great on a T-shirt, but I saw no such apparel in the merchandise store at the stadium. (You’ll see more in a different post.)

“Positively No Visitors”?

I practically scoffed as I made myself at home in the Falcons coaches’ booth.

This was part of the museum tour. You could pose for a photo and have the image superimposed with a Real Madrid player, and this was an example.

I include this only because I thought that the woman kind of looks like a mashup of Paula Deen and Meryl Streep.

(“Knows a lot”)

Mercedes-Benz Stadium may not be home to a team that has won 36 league championships (21 since 1966, the Falcons’ inaugural season) or was voted the top club in the world for the 20th century, but its concession prices generally undercut Bernabéu’s.

Bernabéu beer (in dollars): $9 (approximately).

MBS Bud Light: $9.

Bernabéu Coca-Cola, 500 milliliters (about 17 ounces): $6.

MBS souvenir soda (more than 17 ounces, I would think): $4.

Bernabéu pretzel: $5.60.

MBS “super pretzel”: $2.

Bernabéu Spanish ham sandwich: $12.

MBS chili cheese dog (which would seem like an equivalent?): $5.

Plus, I have to think the swag surfing is infinitely better at MBS than Bernabéu.

Another part of the tour.

We made avatars, then played skills games with targets and obstacles projected onto a wall and floor, and then a 3-on-3 game with a virtual ball projected onto the floor and responsive to attempts to “kick” it.