Fussball

I think we all knew it was only a matter of time until I wrote a post about soccer (I refuse to call it football, because that is not what we call it in the US!). After all, I AM living abroad in Europe in a country that has a soccer team. Disclaimer: I really don't care about soccer. I think it's exciting to watch, in person, because it's fast moving, but that it's really boring to watch on TV for more than about 3 minutes. I would never seek out a soccer match, ever, in my life, to watch on TV. On the other hand, I REALLY WANT GERMANY TO WIN! This has pretty much nothing to do with soccer and a lot more to do with the fact that I think Germany is the best country in Europe.

So, this got me thinking about a lot of different things, actually. I think that my feelings kind of get to the crux of people's sports obsessions and loves: everyone wants their team to win because they feel that their city/school/whatever is the best one ever. I think this sometimes kind of gets mixed up, because at least at home it is so taboo to "jump on the band wagon". You have to pretend that you have secretly liked and followed the sport the entire time, and are just now expressing a real interest in it that coincidentally is at the exact same time as that big tournament where the team is doing really well. Here everyone is jumping on the band wagon. I know there are people who legitimately like soccer here, but I don't know any of them. Somehow it's different though, because it's Germany playing, and not just FC Bayern or whatever. Everyone suddenly is a HUGE fan of soccer. Every time there is a soccer match, and especially if Germany is playing, every bar, biergarten, coffee shop, any place that serves food sets up a huge TV and the place completely fills up with loud, costumed, makeup-ed, excited crowds. It's hard NOT to get caught up in the excitement.

That is the main thing that confuses me. Patriotism is something that is not common here--at least not of the American, flag-flying variety. It isn't hailed as a virtue here the way it is in the US. I'm not exactly sure why, but I have my theories, not the least of which is that Germany was dumped on or oppressed almost non-stop in the 20th century. I think another part of it is that a lot of people tend to very closely identify with the region they come from, like Bayern, Schwabenland (where I am), etc. A while back I was thinking about how weird it seems to me that so few people move far away from where they grew up. But the more I thought about, the more I realized that it isn't that weird. In Germany, you grow up in an area, you learn a dialect that only people where you live can easily understand, and not only that, there just aren't that many options! Germany ain't that big. You move from one end of the country to the other and you're maybe 6, 7 hours away from where you grew up. In that case, why even go that far away? Why not just stay near what you know? It makes sense that people stay where they grew up, and it makes sense then that they have a stronger regional identity than national one.

Wow, I think I'm making soccer way more complicated that it has to be! But what I'm trying to say is, I have never seen anything that has caused this much patriotism, and by patriotism I mean blatant and obvious support of Germany, the country--wearing German flags, painting the German colors on their faces, stuff like that. It's pretty insane, and actually pretty fun to watch. Any time I travel somewhere in Germany now, if there's a game that weekend, I'll see crowds of people in train stations traveling to somewhere to watch the game, all decked out in their Germany gear (and of course carrying the requisite cases of beer).

Now the real question is, which team is there a bigger turnout for: Germany or Turkey? That's a tough one. I think the excitement is about equal. I obviously knew there were a ton of Turks in Germany, but they all seem to come out of the woodwork for soccer! That and ALL THE MALES HAVE MULLETS. All of them! I don't know if I've ever seen a Turkish male who doesn't have a mullet. But that's beside the point. The point is, it bugs me that all the Turks who live in Germany are rooting for Turkey and not Germany! Um, hello? Aren't you living in a country with such a wide social net that it catches even people who aren't citizens and just happen to be residents? It really bugs me that they don't support the country they live in. I know it's just soccer, but still. It's just soccer! Cheer for your home team--the one you make your home in!

Anyway, that's enough about soccer. I really don't like it. Honestly. But GO GERMANY!