Right now, if you go to a German pub, if you take a taxi or even just if you walk along a street, you can’t avoid talk about Fußball (soccer). Germany is on its way to become Europameister (European champions) this year, and everybody is going crazy. Turkey still has a good chance of winning, so really everybody is going crazy. (Turks are the largest group of immigrants in Germany.)
This is the one time when people will show off German flags, when normally they’re taboo. The year Germany became runner-up to Weltmeister (world champion) at soccer, there was actually a shortage of flags because the stores were unprepared. And tonight is going to be the craziest game of all: Germany against Turkey in the semi-finals. Everybody is talking about it, even the foreign press noticed.
Let me tell you: even in peaceful times the majority of Germans can explain the most obscure rules of soccer. If you don’t know what soccer is about right now, or if you don’t have any opinion about the upcoming game, you’re out. You can’t retain any kind of respectability in Germany. So, if you expect to come into any kind of contact with Germans during the rest of the European cup, or if you always wanted to know what the craze is about, study
– all about soccer.
