It's been 3 days without football now, ey, its a tough time ;). Actually, it really has been weird I had to look in to the programme again to know what else they show on TV.
Well, I promised you a general reveiw and here I am to try and make my points.
First of all, congrats to Italy winning the cup! Its been like 1990 in Italy, Germany was the champion and Italy became third, just like this year only the other way around :D. I was actually going for France as I sympathy with Zidane but the foul that happened really shocked me. Zidane is a professional football player and should not attack other players, no matter what Materazzi might have said to him to provoke him. Sad for him to leave professional football like this. But anyway.
I have seen a nice report on TV yesterday about the feeling that has been going on in Germany and what is left of it now as the big party is over. People of you who have been in Germany or are just well informed probably know that we had a difficult past (well, thats a thing everybody knows though) and due to that past there was never a big unity in the country, no national pride, always the fear of being looked at in a strange way by other countries when raising the German flag or singing our anthem. I know its strange, WWII is more that 60 years ago but it stays in people's heads forever if information is not renewed. My generation only knows our past from the history books, being totally aware of it, feeling ashamed, but no more.
The event of the World Cup here in Germany gave us something special. I have never felt such a unity and love in my country before. A sea of flags everywhere you looked and still look, happy people showing their nationality with pride and at the same time welcoming visitors from outside the country. It definitely was 'a time to make friends'. On the one had Germany has become more open-minded towards other cultures and at the same time we had the chance to present a new Germany - relieved from our historical burden. Not only WWII but also the reunion between western and eastern Germany has not been completely sufficiant. That football event has has taken it a great step forward though. In these days I can say I feel proud to be German. I have been abroad several times and it has always been a weird feeling when somebody asked for my nationality. There were these unspoken things in everybody's minds about the fact being German. To me this is no more.
Thats one thing I love about football and World Cups. It units the world, different nations, creates healthy nationalism and erases racism. There were public viewing points in every major cityhere, a new idea of watching football - big screens on major places. The good thing was that international fans could watch the matches peacefully next to each other. It was always a big party in the end - having Mexicans celebrate with the French or Ghanese celebrating with the Czechs.
One aspect that made it possible to let the enthusiams get that far was our sympathic national team and coach Jürgen Klinsmann. I was so upset when I heard in the news today that Klinsmann wont continue his job. But it is his decision that we have to accept and he is a hero here anyway :). I really hope that the new feeling here in Germany will last for a long long time.
The World Cup was something like an explosion. An explosion of new vibes, a new identity and a time to have a multicultural party with friends from all over the world!
For me I can say that I am soo happy and thankful that I could play a part in the whole event, even though it was a minor one ;). But I hope I could represent a bit of ourselves and who we are to all the stadium visitors.
Cant wait for the European Championship 2008 in Austria/Switzerland followd by the next World Cup in South Africa! But it is sooooooooooooooooo long to go!!!
