German Patriotism

...is really just my excuse to write about the World Cup. Sort of.

The fever here is crazy. Almost every restaurant or bar has at least one television playing during the time of the games, although they're not taking place in Berlin this time around. It dominates conversations, television ads, newspapers, groceries, lectures, and just about everything else. And it's definitely contagious. I've personally seen more soccer games in the past two days than probably the previous year. Also, being in Germany is a plus, because it gives me a chance to support a land with a pretty respectable soccer team. Not that the USA is bad by any means, but being here almost gives me the feeling that soccer runs in their blood(or rather, Fußball, as it is called here).

And I find that this craze for the World Cup carries a deceptive amount of German patriotism along with it. Normally, you might be able to find a German flag if you visit the state parliament or an office of similar importance, and otherwise you're better off looking for an image of it online rather than flying in the sky of Berlin somewhere. My impression is that the flag simply doesn't bear the same sort of symbolism and importance as ours.

But the World Cup changes all that. At least half the cars you see driving down the road (and more, if Germany happens to be playing) have a small reproduction of the German flag flying from their windows. They're hanging from office buildings, apartments, and backpacks, all displaying their support for their country. At the most recent public showing of the Germany vs. Australia game I attended (Germany won 4-0), they were even being worn as capes! But as I mentioned, this sort of patriotism is very short-lived, and also more of a veneer for the true opinions of the citizenry. An example: at a party I was at last weekend, one of the guests observed an instance of this pseudo-nationalism and was apparently not very pleased, leading them to throw the displayed flag off the balcony. I imagine the host managed to get it back at some point, but this act of defiance gave me some insight into the perspective presented here. I am definitely anxious to see what happens if Germany becomes eliminated at some point...

Word for the Post:die Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft
Definition: Soccer World Championship (usually interpreted as World Cup)
Pronunciation: FOOSS-ball velt-MYS-ter-shaft