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.

Football: A Religion

Growing up in a household where sports is a big deal, football has always been more than just a sport for me. However, I don’t think I ever realized just how much of a big deal it can be. Because of recent occurrences, I have come to the conclusion that football is a religion. At least, for most Germans.

I have learned that World Cup viewing parties are just as important as the World Cup itself. On Tuesday night, a group of us got together to watch the USA v. Belgium match and cheer for USA. I want to take a moment to talk about the USA team and their headers. USA team: use your feet, those headers ain’t working for you. Fun fact: USA’s goalkeeper made the most saves in a match in World Cup history. GO ‘MURICA.

USA v. Belgium viewing party

Accurate representation of all our personalities

My lab-mates had told me that it was very brave of me to support USA during the World Cup, and after USA lost 1-2, I walked into lab Wednesday morning ready to take whatever mockery they were going to hit me with. I went into lab around 9 AM which is usually when most grad students show up. With an exception of one grad student who is currently working on his thesis, no one else was there. We went into lab hoping the others would show up eventually, but until lunch time, it was just us two in the entire Technical Physics department. Every day after lunch, we all drink coffee together in the conference room but considering no one else had showed up, we just decided to have our after-lunch coffee in our office. I was sitting in my office, drinking coffee, and discussing the Germany v. France game with the grad student when three people I work with showed up.

Them: Numa. Why are you here?
Me: …to work? Why I’m at work?
Them: Yes. Why are you at work?
Me: To work. I’m at work to work.

They shook their head as if I had done something terribly wrong by showing up to work, pulled up chairs and sat down next to me. The only thought going on in my head at the time was, “was I fired?” Needless to say, I was freaking out. With a very stern expression on his face, one of the grad students reached into his backpack and pulled out shitty American beer for all of them. He said, “we’re on your side.” I was, of course, as confused as ever.

Them: It doesn’t matter that USA can’t play football. We’re on your side.

It took a good five minutes for me to register what was going on, and I started laughing uncontrollably. My laughter disappointed them. They spent the next 30 minutes explaining to me how football is more than just a game. Football is a lifestyle. Football is a religion. They told me that they were disappointed that in my month here, I haven’t learned that. They said that it doesn’t matter how much I learn about quantum dots or spectroscopy because I can learn all the Physics I want back in Austin. What I can’t learn is the German culture and lifestyle. I can’t learn that football is a religion back in Austin. They told me that they were disappointed that I showed up to work. According to them, I should have taken the day off to mourn the loss of USA. They said they all showed up late to support me in my mourning. They also said that we must trash all the Belgium beer they got on Monday because we must abandon all things Belgium to support USA.

So we did. We trashed beer. We mourned. We chanted. Then, we took rest of the day off.

Happy Fourth of July, y’all. GO ‘MURICA. 

World Cup: Germany's First Win

So if you’ve known me long, you know that a) I do actually enjoy sitting down and watching sports {i.e. I am not an anti-sports nerd}, and b) I never watch soccer. This stems from deeply rooted familial tradition {i.e. my dad doesn’t really care for it}. So as I’ve grown up, I’ve had no interest in an almost two-hour game where people win 1-0.

It has thus been interesting to be residing in Germany and Europe for the duration of the World Cup. I can’t find anything to compare it to in the States. It is not like our NFL football or NBA basketball. Those are cities against cities, and city pride will never equal national patriotism. Perhaps the Olympics come close, but I feel most of the time {the occasional heated hockey game excepted}, the event hinges more on the aesthetic and and doesn’t include all the raucous passion of NFL or the NBA. The Olympics are a spectacle more than a contest, at least is that how I often feel watching them as an American.

The World Cup combines the passion of Super Bowl fandom with the Olympic patriotism of countries. In that respect, it is one of the coolest things I’ve seen while here, and, well, ever.

{Even their dogs are passionate about soccer. We took this video after church on Sunday. Unfortunately, the best feats of the athletic animal were occurred after I stopped recording.}

Last night, I watched my first game. I wasn’t planning on doing so; I was planning on buying milk and cereal and going home to catch up on much-needed sleep. And then Julius appeared in my hall and informed me that our conference room had become a viewing party for members of both our lab groups. Okay, then. {Viewing parties are as vital to the World Cup in Germany as the game itself.}

Germany won against Portugal, 4-0. A nice way to start the games.

Once it was over, I took the bus back to the Hauptbahnhof/Busbahnhof, which is grand central station when it comes to buses, trains, and trams. I intended to grab a tram immediately to head back to my place, except it wasn’t running as normal. In fact, nothing was normal. There was traffic.

I’ve been here for three weeks and have never once seen anything close to traffic. But this was traffic, and not just traffic, but celebratory traffic. Honking, waving of flags, cheering of people, “Ole! Ole, ole, ole!” I watched a crowd of college-aged guys spill out of a bus at the Busbahnhof and throw a loud firework to the ground, where it proceeded to spark and flame and smoke for a good minute afterward.

I compare the chaos to the night the Longhorns won the National Championship in 2005 {a night I was privileged to be a part of}, but not quite so big. After all, this is just the first game, not the World Cup itself. Not yet, at least. :)