World Cup in Germany

Couldn't have found a better time to be in Germany than during the few weeks of World Cup (the Weltmeisterschaft in German). Whilist it certainly was no comparison to the last World Cup that Germany was hosting, the German team (die Mannschaft) has certainly sparked a new wave of enthusiasm in the summer of 2010, following the UEFA European Championship games where Bayern Munich got 2nd place, lost to Inter Milan in May, just a month ago.

At work, emails were distributed about company site viewing locations and time tables. On the way to the cafeteria, a huge 2 meter by 1.5 meter tall table was put up in front of the twenty some coffee tables which would then be occupied by waves of lunchers everyday for after-meal discourses on statistics, favorites and odds. Pools were taken for the final 16s and subsequent games betting anywhere between a mass of beer to double, triple digit (and possibly more) figures.

Around the country, public viewing sites were set up in the speed of lightning. Stalls selling world cup merchandise featuring not only Germany but other European and African countries' iconic colors or symbols popped up on the streets. Merchants calling on top of their lungs over the sounds of Vuvuzela on the streets, taking advantage of the souvenir craze as they rightfully should . Interns and assistants of financial service institutes around the financial district in Frankfurt were dispatched to occupy seats for their managements few hours before the game during office hours. Almost everyday during game times, most of the outdoor bars and restaurants in the Bergerstrasse were filled with happy audience, wearing flags and flowers around their necks of their national colors. In Frankfurt's Opern Platz Festival, supporters of various national teams aggregated for the opportune cultural fest where you would meet fans from the other sides, whose loud and pompous parade after a winning game would provoke local Germans along the way to grit their teeth.

To one surprise the Germans are incredibly orderly party-goers. Some pushing and shoving are unavoidable in public places but never was there any accident or situations where one might feel uneasy or endangered. Perhaps it was the 4 rows of police officers standing warningly near the city center at the Hauptwache station, but perhaps it was because Germans, as with many Europeans, were experts in celebration and beer-drinking.

A few German friends have expressed to me their disappointment in this year's team performance after losing the game with Spain, same as previous years. This year was the first time in many years where they stopped feeling ashamed of their national team as they made it into the quarter finals. I could hardly reconcile this sentiments with the amazing game stats of the team. Fresh young players, great team work, tight organization, and having many great team-playing star-players such as Mueller, Podolski, Klose... The only flaw would be the lack of experience and individual players' skills. Yet, I have to say Germans having high standards, in soccer and in everything else in life, is nothing new.