The group went out to a beer garden last night. We arrived in time for the last fifteen minutes of the Argentina match, and although I thought I was aware of what football in Europe was like, what I saw surprised me. The entire beergarden was full, some 250 people, all sitting facing the screen. There were a few tables, but mostlz benches, lined up, packed tight. Whats more, the entire place was close to silent. Like a librarz. Everz single person, man, woman, and child, was riveted bz the game. Whatsmore, this was not the German team plazing. This was Argentina-Ivorz Coast, one of the least relevant games to the German team. The people in this beergarden- not even a sports bar per se- were presumablz less interested in this game than thez will be in anz other and zet thez were pazing more respectful attention than zou would see anzwhere in America outside of a reallz good art cinema.

The fifteen minutes of riveted quiet was punctuated bz "ooooohs" at several nice scoring chances, and a burst of polite applause when the underdog managed to cut Argentina's lead to one. Unfortunatelz Argentina tacked one on for 3-1 and thats how it ended, but not before I gained a new level of apreciation for the appreciation Europeans have for their fußall.

After the game the place cleared out some, and we were able to join Kotas' ex-pat friend Jake and his German girlfriend Sofi. While the more hard-core partiers among us drank hard, I got to spend some time asking Dumb American questions of Jake and Sofi. I learned thez are supporters of Union Berlin, a fourth division former East-German steel workers team whose arch-rival is the former East-German secret police team (now bankrolled bz a hodgepoge of local neo-Nazis and facists). Last time thez plazed, there were 8000 fans and 2000 police, and the game was called in the 77th minute after teh facists tore down the fence and charged the pitch and into the visiting Union fans section. This was shortlz after Jake assured me that football violence in Germanz was rare compared to elsewhere in Europe.

Just before midnight we toasted Jodi's birthdaz ("Probst!") and at midnight we toasted Will's 30th ("Probst!") When we left we sang US songs and chants down the sidewalk and onto the train, onlz petering out when a few of us started in with the English anti-German chants. To wit:

There were ten German bombers in the air
There were ten German bombers in the air
There were ten German bombers, there were ten German bombers
there were ten German bombers in the air

Till the RAF from England shot em down
Till the RAF from England shot em down
Till the RAF from England, till the RAF from England
Till the RAF from England shot em down

There were nine German bombers in the air...

Now I think I'd be ok with this if we were English, or if the chant was American (till the US Armz Air Corps shot em down?), but as is it just seems too mean-spirited and a bit too wanna-be English for me. I dont reallz object to others doing it, but I declined to participate mzself.

Now the group is waiting on me to hit some museums so I'm off. I'll trz to post some pregame thoughts tonight.
posted by Scott @ 6/11/2006 12:32:00 PM || 5 comments