The Reign in Spain

It's nearly impossible to fathom the relevance of Spain's earthshaking victory Sunday in the Euro 2008 final against Germany, the nation's first title on the international stage after 44 years of misfortune and unfulfilled potential.

That is, unless you are Juli Simon, director of the Erotic Cinema Festival, who puts things in perspective: "Soccer is one of the few things with which sex cannot compete."

Simon's festival had the misfortune of competing for viewers during Spain's three-week run toward European glory. The numbers don't lie. Last year's festival attracted over 55,000 visitors. This year's festival drew a "disappointing" 15,000 visitors.

Here's another figure, for further perspective: Sunday's final was the most watched event in the history of Spanish television. The final match earned an 88.6 share, according to TNSofres, Spain's equivalent of Nielsen. Nearly 18 million television sets were tuned into the game, while nine out of 10 Spaniards watched at least part of the match, according to the Spanish daily El Pais.

In addition, 30 percent of movie theaters in Madrid closed their doors before the final, while bars with their TVs tuned into the game reported a 30 percent spike in business according to reports by the Madrid daily ABC.

Just imagine Red Sox Nation pre-2004 as an authentic nation, replete with 44 million long suffering fans whose hopes are lifted every two years, only to be flattened by their team's early exits, all the while carrying the label of "chokers" on their collective backs.

Which makes Sunday's victory all the sweeter, even if thousands of Spaniards are sporting a freshly shaved heads.

Determined to shake off decades of misfortune, and defy history, Marca, a Spanish sports tabloid, sponsored a shave-off in order to spur Spain to victory. By game's end on Sunday, the promotion has registered over 12,000 participants.

Alfonso Serrano F.