Deutschland vs. USA: 5-1

Last Wednesday, I went to the Deutschland vs. USA soccer game in Dortmund with three of my favourite colleagues. Sports, whether it be playing or watching, has never been my thing, but this was a total blast nonetheless! One colleague in particular is a soccer-fanatic... so, it was nice to get a glimpse into his world.



Here we are... can you tell who the soccer fanatic is? Yup, Teddy*, the one draped in the German flag on the right. Volli* is on the left and Eve* is in the middle. :)


It was hilarious watching the fans... there were certain songs and cheers that the entire stadium knew and sung together... reminded me of good ol' Aggieland.

The game itself wasn't that interesting... no points were scored in the entire first half. All I wanted was one real goal from the US... sure, they scored a goal, but the ball just kind of accidently rolled into the net, as the Germans thought it was a foul. *yawn*



Here we are during half-time (the score was 0-0 at this point).



There were 64,500 people in the stadium, with a very small percentage being American. One group of Americans was particularly rowdy and amusing, so I took a picture, which unfortunately didn't turn out that well. But you can still see a faint outline of our lovely flag.


One of the funniest parts of the evening was standing in line trying to get into the stadium... talk about personal space bubbles being infringed upon!! I felt like I was back in China, in line for an ice cream at McDonalds. Now, that is fighting and pushing. The people were so anxious to get into the stadium that I was literally being shoved and pushed forward and couldn't do anything about it. People in the crowd even started screaming and cursing at security. One smart-alec kept screaming things about President Bush.** Another started blaming the Americans for the long lines. I just kept my mouth shut. 'Twas amusing.



Once we actually made it into the stadium, this is what it looked like.


Another interesting tidbit... everytime the Germans scored a goal, a song was blasted over the stadium loudspeakers... in English, of course! And after all the Bush-bashing and making fun of Americans. :) Gotta love it.



Here's a photo one of my coworkers sent me of Olli Kahn**, the half-man-half-animal-hit-in-the-head-with-a-soccerball-one-too-many-times German Goalie. Maybe he's the reason the US couldn't score.


I do have one regret, and that is missing the National Anthems. Though we were about 45 minutes early, we missed the Anthems because it took so long to get through security. Who would've thought that soccer game security is better than airline (especially American Airlines) security? What's the world coming to?

The entire experience was great, and I was surprised that I actually got into the game itself! It's a silly soccer game!! During certain points in the game, it was even a little nerve-wracking. For some strange reason, I really wanted the US to score.

At the game, I also learned a new word: Ami. It's short for "Amerikaner" (American). Hmmm. It's pronounced the way a British person would pronounce the word "army."


And one more picture of my dear co-workers... :)



*name changed or slightly altered to protect privacy
**name unchanged and privacy unprotected


Lyric I of the day: "...and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave... o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave." (US National Anthem)

Lyric II of the day: "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit für das deutsche Vaterland. Danach laßt uns alle streben brüderlich mit Herz und Hand..." (German National Anthem)