Deutschland vor, noch ein Tor!

Europa-Meisterschaft 2008 Fever has hit Germany and, from what I can tell, all of Europe. I had previously watched two full professional soccer games in recent memory: Hertha BSC vs. FC Bayern Muenchen back in December (in person) and Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Bayern during the DFB-Pokal (at the Brandenburger Tor). I don't particularly like soccer (or football, as I have now inadvertently taken to calling it thanks to the influence of British English in Europe), even though (or perhaps because) I played from Kindergarten through fifth grade and was also a line ref for little kids when I was in middle school. But there was something about watching those two games among thousands and thousands of impassioned fans that made me look forward to the European Championship. And it finally arrived this past weekend, with Germany playing its first game against Poland. I watched Germany beat Poland 2:0 (not 2-0 as we Americans are used to writing scores) at a Brazilian friend's apartment, largely with fellow foreigners, but with enough Germans who knew all the players' nicknames and could educate me on soccer terminology to make it authentic. There are signs up all over the city advertising various "Public Viewings" (yes, that is the exact term used, no German needed), and almost every bar has set up a television for fans to watch. People even set televisions on the street and watch with the neighborhood. Friends who didn't watch the game told me they didn't need to check to see if Germany had won: with every goal scored, people roared, and at the end of the game, fans went to the street.

Turkey is also playing in the EM, which made me wonder who residents of Germany with tuerkischer Herkunft (Turkish background) would support. I automatically assumed they would support Turkey and that I would see a large number of Turkish flags hung around the city. I have to say that isn't unbedingt. German flags have been popping up everywhere (even in the predominantly Turkish neighborhood where I work), hanging out windows and off balconies and placed on car windows (the kind that flap in the window--most people who have them have one for each side of the car). I was fascinated the first time I saw this--because basically, it is the first time I have seen an open display of German patriotism. Germans are wary of the word patriotism because to them (unconditional) allegiance to your country can be very dangerous. I have had numerous discussions with Germans about the American idea of patriotism, since to them it is unfathomable. Thus, you rarely see German flags on homes (although I've seen more than a few Confederate flags, for reasons unbeknownst to me!) or in public places. People don't wear shirts that say "Deutschland" on them. Show pride in Germany and you might be seen as implicitly supporting the Germany of the past. No one wants that. (Except, perhaps, in towns like this.) (I must also say that there already was a large prevalence of Turkish symbols around the city, displayed in cars and graffitied (?) on walls, at least in the neighborhood I work in).

I think I am enjoying the EM because it is a cultural experience you cannot get in the U.S., except, perhaps, during the Olympics. However, Americans are always proud of the U.S. and are willing to display it. Germans, as I just said, are not. Germans explain away this pride as just being supportive of their favorite sport and national team, but to me, it seems like a much-needed outlet to say it's ok, Germany is a great country and we are not the same Germany of the Nazi era or of the DDR/BRD times. I just saw an excellent movie called Die Welle, which is based on an experiment carried out by a teacher at a high school in Palo Alto in I believe the 1960s. The German adaptation has a teacher who oversees a weeklong project in which he first gets the students to admit that something like National Socialism would never work in Germany again and then subsequently creates a fascisct regime, all within a few days. A movie I highly recommend. Anyway, the =reason I mention it is because there is a scene in which the students mention pride in Germany during the World Cup in 2006, and they argue over what it signified. A serious topic, but made light because of the funny dialogue among the students.

A gym teacher at my school was telling us about some forms his students had to fill out, I guess to make some sort of point (because I don't know why they would need to fill out actual forms for this). Here's an example of a typical form:

Where were you born? Germany
Where do you live? Germany
Where did you go to elementary school? Germany
Where do you go to high school? Germany
Who are you supporting? Turkey
(clearing a student with tuerkischer Herkunft)

What's even more interesting:

Where were you born? Bosnia
Where do you live? Germany
Where did you go to elementary school? Germany
Where do you go to high school? Germany
Who are you supporting? Turkey
And why? Weil es eine muslimische Mannschaft ist. Because it's a Muslim team.

The teacher felt this outrageous enough to share with the few of us in the teacher's room at the time. I'll let you form your own opinions on this without explaining mine. I just haven't seen the evidence based on discussions with my students that Turkish people are supporting Turkey over Germany, although I would have thought so. I think the following interview with a Turkish-German man I found in today's Berliner Zeitung gives the best explanation:

"Welche Mannschaft ist meine? Wenn ich nach dem fussballerischen Koennen gehe, klar Deutschland. Wenn ich nach dem Siegeshunger gehe, die Tuerkei. In meiner Brust schlagen eben zwei Herzen, so wie bei vielen Kreuzbergern tuerkischer Herkunft dieser Tage, die an ihren Autos die deutsche und die tuerkische Flagge angebracht haben. Auf Tuerkisch schreie ich "Hadi, hadi, hadi, golleri goerelim" und auf Deutsch "Los, los, los, noch ein Tor."

The guy is saying that he supports Germany if we're talking about football ability, and Turkey if yearning for victory is considered. He has two hearts, just as many Turkish-German people who live in Kreuzberg do.

Anyway, I've been keeping up with the press on a daily basis and have been learning more about the players, including Lu- Lu- Lu- Lukas Podolski and his best friend, Schweini (Bastian Schweinsteiger). I also found a great explanation of silly German sayings about soccer here. I'm not sure where I'm going to watch the next games in the first round, but I am looking forward to watching Germany in the semi-finals at the Brandenburger Tor. Too bad I will be in Slovenia during the championship match, because Germany is supposed to win it all.

To fit in with everyone else, I bought a German flag and a German headband to wear to the games (although if Germany were playing the U.S., I'd have to keep my allegiances to the U.S., just not so publicly). If I had more money, I'd even go for one of the Deutschland shirts being sold in every clothing shop and on the street.

Oh, something interesting about the German national team is that two of the stars, Podolski and Miroslav Klose, were born in Poland and moved to Germany at a young age. Podolski did not celebrate his two goals against Poland on Sunday, and he put on a Polish jersey after the game out of respect for his original home country. I understand this, but at the same time I can't imagine what the response would be if someone from the U.S. put on a Mexican jersey right after the game. Would there be a negative reaction?

Alright, that's enough soccer for now.

In other news, I have been outdoors enjoying the beautiful weather here, although today it is rather overcast and even a bit chilly (nevertheless, I am outside at the moment). My church had a big summer kick-off Champagne Garden Party, during which I had to tend bar for a lot longer than I expected, but I still had a great time. There were over 100 people there, all proceeds going to an organization in India that helps street children. I also enjoyed wandering around the enormous Tiergarten in the middle of Berlin and finally saw the Volkspark Friedrichshain, where a friend had a birthday picnic and then we say Die Welle at the Freiluftkino, or outdoor cinema. I even finally returned to the Schloss Charlottenburg, which although was one of the things on my must-do list during my 2006 trip to Berlin, I hadn't thought about it at all since. And now that I only have two more weeks before I leave for my trip, I really need to get some things done on my 2007-2008 must-do list. So no more computer for now. Bis bald!