Germany v. Portugal: Euro 2008 quarterfinals (and German patriotism)

After disappointedly watching Germany's loss to Croatia and then all of the missed opportunities and shoddy teamwork against Austria, I was rightly concerned going into Thursday's quarterfinal game against very fast and very effective Portugal. My fears where allayed during the first half, however, when Schweinsteiger and Klose (finally!) scored nearly perfect goals. The crowd was going wild with merriment and then calmed into easy jocularity until Portugal started showing its guns late in the first, bringing the score to 2-1. Ballack's second-half goal ensured Germany a two point lead, but Portugal answered late with one more of its own so that every fan was on the edge of his or her seat during the final minutes of the game. I realized at one point that I actually had my fingernails in my mouth like some ridiculous cartoon character, it was that intense.

It was the celebration afterwards, though, that really swept me up in the excitement: flag-waving everywhere, the fireworks going off from every corner of the crowded street in Bayreuth's center, "Super Deutschland" being sung at the top of every voice...Perhaps a little history would help to explain why a seemingly simple celebration is actually cause for excitement here...

I live in a country that has had to be afraid of patriotism for over 60 years now. Germans generally identify themselves as Europeans first, as coming from their city or province second and as Germans third. Pervasive guilt is the heavy burden of every German, young and old, who have had the atrocities committed during the second World War drilled into their heads by their schools, media and foreigners abroad who aren't afraid to say such ridiculous things as this: "Oh you're from Germany, so you must be a Nazi, right?" While my friends will readily but shamefully admit that older Germans often still harbor much racism, the younger set doesn't want to have anything to do with that generation's prejudices. Interracial and intercultural relationships are widely accepted among the young, and many Jews are returning to Germany to live. While I will be the first to admit that the country certainly has its problems -- racism in any form is never to be taken lightly, and those of you who know me know how strongly I feel about this, especially considering the Turkey issue that I'll address in my next post -- it's not healthy for its young people to live in a constant state of self-reproach. I've been shocked to hear many German friends constantly speaking cynically of their own country; I've been even more surprised when they are nothing short of astonished that foreign friends actually like something about Germany. These attitudes and emotions have led to a complete lack of German pride which consumed the country until the 2006 World Cup. Friends who were here for the event attest to the amazing power that tournament had to unite Germans. You saw people waving flags for the first time in a long time. You saw national pride alive again. Watching the Euro Cup this year has given me a first-hand experience of that heretofore buried pride. It's exciting to see Germans get excited and be positive about themselves and their country. Tellingly, it was a proudly Jewish girlfriend from Israel who was the first to agree with me on this.

Oh, and can I just say, apropos of nothing, that Arne Friedrich is mine. All mine.

Next up: Croatia v. Turkey, and the impending (in the first and second senses of the word) Germany-Turkey match

tags: euro2008  germany  football  soccer  portugal