The Game (of the Century)

Wednesday was finally here, and although my co-workers were reluctant to voice the concerns for the Turkish – Germany game, their silence only made the anxiety more obvious. It was useless to ignore the significance of a game where the emotional component is best measured along side Greek tragedies and classic mythology. On one side was Turkey, the remnant of the Ottoman Empire, the Muslim presence in the historically Christian Europe, the emerging nation waiting on the invitation into the EU, Germany’s largest minority of merchant class and fresh immigrants. On the other side was the Fatherland, the economic power, the EU key holder, the Man.

I tried to fish for thoughts at the lunch table, throwing out statements like “I’m pretty nervous about the game tonight. Turkey just seems to always find a way to win.” If I was lucky enough to get a relevant response, it most likely take the form of “Yeah, but they don’t play well—they just play hard. We are much more disciplined.” Despite the few bites, I never reeled one in. When my colleagues started clearing out an hour early, I followed suit. Although it isn’t unusual to leave work early on a game day, this was a bit more than I had noticed during the game against Croatia.That night as I made my way down to the Stadtmitte, literally city-middle, one of my flatmate’s friend let it loose. “There are a lot of Turks here in Germany, you know? We are a little bit scared tonight. We might just get beaten up.” If the game would have started then and there, I might have become a little nervous myself. However, as were passing through a heavily Turkish neighborhood at the time, my nerves were halted by success wishes of “Viel Erfolg!” and even playful negotiations like “If Turkey wins tonight, we get free Döners right?” (Döners are incredibly popular kebab sandwiches, and the shops are almost always Turk-owned). On top of this encouragement, my friend proceded to lighten the mood, glorifying Turkey's underdog appeal. He reminded me that 8 of Turkey's team were either injured or ineligible for the game because of red/double yellow cards in the previous game. As if that wasn't enough, there was wide speculation that the team's third-string goalie might end up playing striker!

I had never seen so many Germans pay so much attention to a game. Of course there was still the typical merriment at this game, but for once the fans seemed more focused on cheering than on the party atmosphere. Every cheer that the Turkish fans started was quickly followed by a counter cheer, and so it went until Turkey scored the first goal. Germany was silent. The game continued to stay close and when Turkey tied the game 2-2 in the second half, I was instructed a native to stop taking pictures of their fans celebrating. With less than ten minutes of regulation play left in the game, both sides seemed to be thinking the same thing, that Turkey somehow manages to win in the end.
In the last minute of regulation play, the flood gates opened in response to Phillip Lahm’s goal. Despite the Turks last minute efforts, the fate was sealed. Germany prevailed 3-2, and Turkey was going to be watching the Finale at home. The celebration continued for hours afterward, but I had to leave an hour into the celebratory dancing in the streets. Unlike the students, I had work the next morning.

Europa Meisterschaft!

I should have packed my Poland jersey; Trikot, if you're still trying to build up your German vocab. Even a red T-shirt would have been nice. Without either, I was left in the "Fan Zone" surrounded by at least 1,000 German fans wearing a green shirt. It's not the fact that I didn't have something fitting to wear for the game that upsets me. Rather, it's knowing that had I been wearing that jersey, Poland would have won or at the very least, lost by a slimmer margin than the 2-0 fate that they suffered at the hands of the Germans.

Such is the logic of fans. It's a good thing that I'm not a cradle Fußball fanatic though, otherwise I would have been facing much worse than the jersey-induced doubt.

The Europe Cup is now in its third week, and Germany is still going strong. Cars have their little window flags, displaying proudly the black red and yellow as they load up on groceries. The girls that live below me made sure that they were sporting the national colors and matching for the opening game. This is a picture that I snapped of one of the pair on our bike ride downtown where there was a public viewing of the game or in German, Public Viewing. It's not the best quality, but in my defense, I was riding a bike while I took it.

For those who haven't been following the cup back in the States, here's a synopsis:
Poland unfortunately didn't make it out of the first round. They lost to Germany, ended up settling for a tie against Austria when they gave up a goal in the last few minutes of play, and they lost to Croatia.
Italy, the defending champions of the world, started off with a terrible 3-0 loss to the Netherlands, but were able to manage in the end with wins over Romania and France. They just lost last night to Spain in the second round, so they're out.
Germany luckily survived a first round loss to Croatia but ended up in second in their 4 team pod with Poland and Austria and therefore were able to move to the second round. There Germany proved victorious over the talented Portugal squad with a 3-2 win. They play again on Wednesday against the cinderella Turkey team.
Turkey has pulled off at least two miraculous games where they snatched victory from their opponents at the very last minutes. Recently, they upset Croatia and in doing so, moved on to the third round game.

The game on Wednesday between Germany and Turkey is particularly volatile because the Turks are the largest minority group in Germany. In the past few decades there has been several incidents of xenophobia crimes committed against Turks in Germany. Earlier this winter tensions between Turks and Germans were tested when a Turkish immigrant-filled apartment building suffered heavily from a fire. Fingers were pointed and arsen was suggested, but in the end the conflagration was blamed on the shoddy electrical wiring.
When either the Germans or Turks when, the streets of Germany's cities become stages for immediate parades. Cars will drive around for more than an hour, liberally sounding their horns.

During Turkey's last game, I found myself in a immigrant-district of Cologne with an hour long wait for my train. Naturally, I walked into the nearest bar to catch the first half of the game and was able to snag the last remaining seat. Although I may have been the only non-Turk in the bar, the two guys sitting next to me didn't mind, probably because they knew I was neither a native speaker nor a Croatia supporter. In gratitude for their hospitality, I bought the two another round of beer as I left to catch my train. Who said diplomacy had to be difficult?

Right now though, it isn't looking too good for the Turks. In their nail biter finishes, and double overtime-extended games several Turkey players collected injury, red and yellow/red cards, and for the lucky single yellow cards. Red cards bar the player from the rest of the game as well as the next game. Players are allowed to accumulate two yellow cards before suffering the same consequences as the red card. In a tournament situation, you can imagine how penalties can haunt a team. I think Turkey will be short seven players on Wednesday. Advantage, Deutschland.