The German Flag

The German flag. You've probably seen more of it than usual due to that, uh, you know, tournament we won. That World Cup thing. :)

I didn't think anything of it. When we arrived in Wuerzburg, the city was already decked out with Schwarz, Rot, Gold! {Black, Red, Gold!}. The first thing I saw out my window was a house sporting a German flag. Coming from a country--and state--that drenches itself in red, white, and blue, I chalked it down to patriotism and pride. Normal.

And then we had an interesting conversation at lunch one day. Someone mentioned that they'd been driving and had seen a house that had covered its entire front with the German flag. The house was the flag. And The Computer Guy* {not to be confused with the IT Guy} commented on how that would never have flown {there's a pun for you, Alex} eight years ago.

Huh?

vs. Algeria
p/c: numa

"Oh no," they told me. "You don't display the flag in Germany. It would look political. Someone would ask you if you were part of the Nationalist Party." {I've had this conversation with two different groups of people, and the reasoning was practically verbatim.}

But what happened eight years ago?

The World Cup was held in Germany in 2006. Germany ended up in third place, which means they played an equal number of games as the championship team. This means they were making headlines for several weeks {trust me, I've lived this}. And according to my labmates, this was when people began to display a cautious appreciation and affinity for the German flag.

Eight years ago.

vs. Argentina

Having these conversations gave me a whole new appreciation for the World Cup. Coming from a sport-filled but soccer-less background, I was enjoying the tournament but had no passion for it. Now I have great respect for this event that, one could say, singlehandedly united a country and gave it back its flag.

vs. Algeria

Because during the World Cup, the flag is everywhere. The colors are worn as accessories--scarves, leis, mustaches, nail polish--and chosen as part of the wardrobe. Flags are painted--or temporarily stuck--onto faces. There are flag-style capes. Or you can just wear the flag as a cape. You can wave little German flags on sticks, or you can hang one from your window. Don't forget the black, red, and gold pennants across your balcony railing!

vs. Argentina

Of course, after the World Cup, everyone puts away the flag. The colors scuttle away, back in a drawer or a closet somewhere. But just wait: in four more years, they'll return. In four more years, schwarz, rot und gold will once again fly.

 * I wish I had a better nickname for him. "He Who Notices That I Don't Speak German" is just a bit...long. But it is consistently the role that The Computer Guy plays. When I'm lost in a German conversation, the odds are that it will be he who notices first. "Guys, Melody doesn't understand what we're saying," he'll tell them {and then I'll blush and everyone will apologize and we'll switch to English}. He is The Computer Guy because he is the other half of our tech department and the one who a) opened up and diagnosed my laptop when it had its troubles, and b) set me up with my own desktop at my desk.