Article Contributed on: 7/12/2006 1:40:52 PM
I have football fever...every person in Germany does. In fact, most of the WORLD does! No, not American football, but soccer. Its that special time again that only comes every four years- the World Cup. And this time, Germany is the host.
It's a very special time to be in Germany. The atmosphere has changed. Everyone is soccer crazy- from the very young to thevery old.Thereis aperpetual partythroughout the country.Everyone talks about soccer. Even the stores are soccer crazy- selling everything related to countries in the WM and the WM itself!
Iwatched the first game, and90% of the others so far, in thecenter of Deggendorf.For a town thatis only home to 35,000 people,I think that close to that number come out to watch the games that involveGermany. Since Deggendorf also has a lot of international students, there is at least one person from nearly every country represented in the 32 WM teams.
There have been upsets, there have beencelebrations, and there have been those moments where every person around you is praying that theirfavorite team canmake it through.
I am a Brazil fan. I mean, I will go cheer for the USA in all of their games, but deep down, I am a Brazil fan. That said, Brazil played Australia in Munich on June 18. Since Munich is fairly close to Deggendorf, my Brazilian friends and I decided to go watch the game at the Fan-park that was set up in the Olympic Park in Munich. When we got off of the train, we knew that the day would be much different than watching the games in Deggendorf. There were thousands of fans from both sides, as well as Germany, USA, Croatia, Japan, and many other countries celebrating the WM in the old city center of Munich. There were street performers in Marienplatz, and even a beach in one of the squares! Once we pushed and shoved our way into an overloaded subway to the Fan-park, we were finally there.
The screen was huge. And so was the fan area, but it wasn't big enough. It was meant to hold 3,000 fans comfortably, but estimates were somewhere around 6,000 people during the Brazil vs. Australia game. Imagine Aussies and Brazilians, both totally clothed, painted, and decked out in yellow (both team's main color), chanting, cheering, and sharing in a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
It was definitely a day to remember. And being in Germany for the entire World Cup is definitely an experience to remember. I'm sure that I will never get to celebrate soccer with friends from all over the world like this ever again.
Theworld has football fever- do you?