I have now been watching the games in Germany for the past few days. I had been watching them the US and here are some observations.
First, all of Germany is consumed by the World Cup. The first thing you see is all the flags hanging from the windows and balconies. Anyone who knows Germany will know, that is not something that usually happens. Germany’s guilt about it’s past is still great. But, slowly they are moving on.Â
Then, the German team has been playing pretty well. And a love affair between the public and the team has begun. A few days ago, when you asked who would win the World Cup they would mention Brazil or Argentina. Now, people are starting to say that Germany might win. And they watch every step that the German team takes. And all the criticism that the coach got has been replaced with what a great job he is doing.Â
All the fans have been raving what a great time they are having and how inviting all the Germans have been. Inviting and Germans in the same sentence is not something I would have ever used before, and I am German. But, everyone is having a great time.
Today Germany played Ecuador. Afterwards, England played Sweden in Cologne. We decided to go into town to go watch the games on the big screens that they have setup. While walking through town, we came into contact with German fans, English fans, and Swedish fans. It was unbelievable. They said there were close to 100,000 people in town to watch the game. About 60,000 English fans and about 30,000 Swedish. Oh, BTW, the stadium only holds about 50,000. While walking around we were pressed body on body. At one point we could not move for about 5 minutes. In the end, we could not find a place to watch the game because there were so many people and we went home. But, the atmosphere was electric. We will be going again over the next few days.
Finally, I want to mention the TV coverage when compared to the US coverage. The games that I saw, they always started real close to the start of the game and finished shortly after the final whistle was blown. What is so much nicer here is that they show how the players enter the field, they show the national anthems and then how everyone in the stadium is singing along. The game is an important part of the game, but all the fan participation is also something that should not be missed. It is a pity that the US coverage does not cover some of the ‘extra’ stuff around the game.
I will try and report more and the days go by.Â