German Hypocrisy
First of all, a couple of quick notes from the game itself. I neglected to mention a lot of the actual game action because I wanted to put that disaster behind me but now with a few days to recover there are a couple of things I should mention: first of all, our tickets were awesome. Sitting behind the goal lets you experience a soccer game like TV never can. For example, you can see on TV that Claudio Reyna is good; when you watch him live though, you can see that he’s borderline genius. The way plays develop and the way he sees everything before it happens is really cool.
Second of all, believe it or not – the US didn’t play THAT terribly. They had a collective brain fart in the first five minutes that put them in a hole but they seemed to dictate a lot of the rest of the way the half was played and, with some finishing, they would have been right back in the game. Say, for example, Reyna’s shot doesn’t clang off the post and goes in. Whole new ball game. The second goal by the Czechs was just amazing. There’s nothing you can do about that. After that though, down 2-0, the US had no choice but to try and press an attack against a Czech team that didn’t need more goals so they packed it in. There’s still SOME hope for the US but it’s going to be tough as balls…
Now – onto the bitchy part of my post. It’s no secret that I love Germany and enjoy 99% of the things/people that I encounter here. Having said that, I do take issue with a couple of things I consider hypocritical of them. Example: they are opposed to our foreign policy and make it no secret that they think we’re militaristic, etc. That same policy though, protected them throughout the cold war and was the reason they weren’t bled dry by the Soviets. There’s a lot of resentment in West Germany towards the East Germans because they have to prop up their shitty economy now that the country is reunited. What they need to understand is that they’d be in the same boat if it wasn’t for the protection that the US offered. As a matter of fact, the A-10 that’s such a familiar sight over the skies of Tucson was, in many ways, designed specifically to protect Germany from a tank attack by the Soviets. So why do I bring this up anyway? The countries that talk the most shit about the US and our foreign policy are the ones that will benefit from it the most if the shit ever hits the fan. Say German tanks roll across the French border again. Who do you think will stop them? The French? Their Foreign Legion? We all know who would step in to save their asses again. The same goes for Germany. If the reverse occurred and tanks rolled into Germany, it’d be Americans that would protect them. These countries are kept safe by the realization (on any potential enemy’s part) that, if they were to be fucked with, you’d have to deal with the United States of America. Since I’m in a paraphrasing mood, I’ll paraphrase Col. Nathan Jessup: they sleep under the blanked of security that we provide but criticize the manner in which we provide it.
Which brings me (finally) to the point that raised all this ire in me in the first place.
Last night, I went with Bryan and Vroni to a beer garden to watch the Germany game. What do I see but a collection of German fans wearing ridiculous hats (see my hat for example), wigs, face paint, jerseys and carrying gigantic German flags. Do I hold that against them as fans? Fucking right I do. Here’s why:
I’ve lived in Germany and have a reasonable familiarity with Germans and the way they perceive things. I know, for a FACT, that they tend to despise any show of jingoism; loathe any display of nationalism and even hold any display of seemingly harmless patriotism in contempt. And that is one thing that they will tell you they dislike about Americans: we’re shamelessly nationalistic (at least in their eyes). We wave the flag without needing a special occasion, we put it on our automobiles, we wear t-shirts that say “God Bless America” and so on. They don’t like that. They realize the last time they showed a fervent patriotic/nationalistic bent, they started another World War. They live with that guilt.
If you ask a German if they’re proud to be European, they’ll say yes. If you ask a German from Munich if they’re proud to be Bavarian, they’ll say yes. If you ask a German if they’re proud to be German, they’ll say no. That’s the way it is here.
So why my hostility toward the German fan? Because there are many of them that don’t give a SHIT about the World Cup or soccer at all. But that doesn’t stop them from putting on their Germany hats, painting their faces, waving their flags and carrying on. It’s the one occasion where nationalism and jingoism get a pass in this country. They exhibit the EXACT SAME behavior that they hate Americans for the other 1,430 out of 1,460 days.
I have no problem with someone loving their country and showing it. The fans from Trinidad and Tobago are a kick in the ass and the same goes for fans of most other nations. But forgive me if I cannot overlook the hypocrisy on display when a German exhibits the same behavior they HATE in nations like ours. The World Cup is a special event, that much is true. But it’s not an excuse to through your supposed “principles” out the window.
Second of all, believe it or not – the US didn’t play THAT terribly. They had a collective brain fart in the first five minutes that put them in a hole but they seemed to dictate a lot of the rest of the way the half was played and, with some finishing, they would have been right back in the game. Say, for example, Reyna’s shot doesn’t clang off the post and goes in. Whole new ball game. The second goal by the Czechs was just amazing. There’s nothing you can do about that. After that though, down 2-0, the US had no choice but to try and press an attack against a Czech team that didn’t need more goals so they packed it in. There’s still SOME hope for the US but it’s going to be tough as balls…
Now – onto the bitchy part of my post. It’s no secret that I love Germany and enjoy 99% of the things/people that I encounter here. Having said that, I do take issue with a couple of things I consider hypocritical of them. Example: they are opposed to our foreign policy and make it no secret that they think we’re militaristic, etc. That same policy though, protected them throughout the cold war and was the reason they weren’t bled dry by the Soviets. There’s a lot of resentment in West Germany towards the East Germans because they have to prop up their shitty economy now that the country is reunited. What they need to understand is that they’d be in the same boat if it wasn’t for the protection that the US offered. As a matter of fact, the A-10 that’s such a familiar sight over the skies of Tucson was, in many ways, designed specifically to protect Germany from a tank attack by the Soviets. So why do I bring this up anyway? The countries that talk the most shit about the US and our foreign policy are the ones that will benefit from it the most if the shit ever hits the fan. Say German tanks roll across the French border again. Who do you think will stop them? The French? Their Foreign Legion? We all know who would step in to save their asses again. The same goes for Germany. If the reverse occurred and tanks rolled into Germany, it’d be Americans that would protect them. These countries are kept safe by the realization (on any potential enemy’s part) that, if they were to be fucked with, you’d have to deal with the United States of America. Since I’m in a paraphrasing mood, I’ll paraphrase Col. Nathan Jessup: they sleep under the blanked of security that we provide but criticize the manner in which we provide it.
Which brings me (finally) to the point that raised all this ire in me in the first place.
Last night, I went with Bryan and Vroni to a beer garden to watch the Germany game. What do I see but a collection of German fans wearing ridiculous hats (see my hat for example), wigs, face paint, jerseys and carrying gigantic German flags. Do I hold that against them as fans? Fucking right I do. Here’s why:
I’ve lived in Germany and have a reasonable familiarity with Germans and the way they perceive things. I know, for a FACT, that they tend to despise any show of jingoism; loathe any display of nationalism and even hold any display of seemingly harmless patriotism in contempt. And that is one thing that they will tell you they dislike about Americans: we’re shamelessly nationalistic (at least in their eyes). We wave the flag without needing a special occasion, we put it on our automobiles, we wear t-shirts that say “God Bless America” and so on. They don’t like that. They realize the last time they showed a fervent patriotic/nationalistic bent, they started another World War. They live with that guilt.
If you ask a German if they’re proud to be European, they’ll say yes. If you ask a German from Munich if they’re proud to be Bavarian, they’ll say yes. If you ask a German if they’re proud to be German, they’ll say no. That’s the way it is here.
So why my hostility toward the German fan? Because there are many of them that don’t give a SHIT about the World Cup or soccer at all. But that doesn’t stop them from putting on their Germany hats, painting their faces, waving their flags and carrying on. It’s the one occasion where nationalism and jingoism get a pass in this country. They exhibit the EXACT SAME behavior that they hate Americans for the other 1,430 out of 1,460 days.
I have no problem with someone loving their country and showing it. The fans from Trinidad and Tobago are a kick in the ass and the same goes for fans of most other nations. But forgive me if I cannot overlook the hypocrisy on display when a German exhibits the same behavior they HATE in nations like ours. The World Cup is a special event, that much is true. But it’s not an excuse to through your supposed “principles” out the window.
posted by Sivlitz at 4:13 AM
1 Comments:
I could just heat you doing the math:
"alright Joe, think. How many days in the year? How often is the World Cup? How long does the World Cup last? Is this a leap year? carry the one......."
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