More than Football, Flags and Freibier...

I am standing in the ‘Treptower Park’ in Berlin in the middle of a huge crowd of Germans all watching Germany versus Italy in the semi-final of the soccer world cup 2006. German flags everywhere and suddenly after 118 minutes Italy scores.

Within that split second the whole atmosphere changes. I can feel the energy drop. The emotions of millions of people take a big turn in that moment. It feels like the whole city falls into a hole and I have to remind myself that the hollow feeling in my tummy is just a result of this sudden change in energy.

The next day I step outside and notice – to my surprise – that all the German flags on cars balconies and windows are still there. The city feels quiet but the flags are still there.

A few days later Germany plays Portugal in the game for the third place. And the Germans celebrate. The streets are overflowing with fans, flags and music. Germany has become third in the soccer world cup 2006…

It is 1.30 at night, Zoo station. I am sitting on the tube on my way home from watching the game. A bunch of very drunk youngsters squeezes into the train and starts singing “Wir wollen wippen, wippen, wippen…” rocking the wagon, making me wonder if we are going to see the next station. In the middle of all this a woman in her mid-forties is busy changing shirts with her 25-year-old boyfriend and we unwillingly all get to have a look at her bra… I look at the couple sitting next to me. They are probably in their mid sixties holding little German flags in their hands and are smiling at the whole scene.

This is the moment where I start wondering if I am in the right country?!
Maybe only someone that has been to Germany and has spent some time here will understand why I ask myself this question.

This isn’t just another soccer world cup. Of course, it is some sort of mass event but this event has turned into a lot more. It has changed something. Something inside the Germans has been set free. Suddenly they are allowed to feel German, to feel that there is such a thing as a German identity and a sense of community amongst the people of this country. They are even allowed to show their flag without getting concerned looks from the rest of the world.

And against all negative expectations there haven’t been any major incidences of aggression or racist assaults against any of the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Instead I see a German flag that has been attached to a Turkish flag hanging out of a car window as I walk down the Ku’ Damm.

I am not saying that this soccer world cup has solved all our prejudices and problems with racism in this country, but it certainly has shown that there is more to Germany and its people than generally expected. Over the past few weeks the Germans eventually got the chance to show the humanity, the sense of community and the openness that lies within them.

The humanity is mirrored in the people on the streets and on all the Thank-You-banners to the German team. A team that had to deal with lots of criticism before the tournament and coach that pushed thru in spite of all the difficulties.

Juergen Klinsman has managed to build a team that is very young and still became third in this world cup. But more importantly a team that played with passion for the third place and that showed respect and support for former goal keeper Oliver Kahn who had to sit on the bench in this tournament but had a worthy farewell in this last game.

So the Germans celebrate.

They celebrate Klinsman, Kahn, Lehman…

and they celebrate themselves and their newly discovered humanity and openness – sometimes even able to forget why they are actually celebrating…