Published June 9, 2010
I was living in San Diego’s (very) Little Italy four years ago, when Italy prevailed over France in the World Cup and every person of Italian descent, myself included, went ballistic. Though I’m no soccer fanatic, I couldn’t help but revel in the joy of the day.
German fans showed their national colors against Argentina in the 2006 World Cup. (Curt Nickisch/WBUR)
That final game was played in Germany, where reporter and soccer football geek Curt Nickisch was on assignment. He had the good fortune of covering the Cup for Only A Game.
“It was the most fun I had in my life,” Curt told me. “Americans have this completely wrong impression about international soccer, hooligans and whatnot. It was a love fest. I hung out with Italian fans for hours before our two teams went at it. There was no animosity afterward, either.”
Germany might not have won gold, but Curt witnessed something extraordinary there: Germans coming together, perhaps for the first time in decades, in a moment of national pride. (He blogs about the World Cup’s “true trophy” today on his Web site.)
“I never bought a flag before. I don’t know why, but I never did it,” one man said to Curt at a biergarten in Munich. “And now you see a flag on every third or fourth car. It’s really nice to see. … It’s hard to explain in words. A lot of emotion in it.”
In a country once ruled by the Third Reich, nationalism was taboo. When Germany played Argentina in ’06, many Germans didn’t even know the words to their national anthem — the lyrics were published on the front page of Bild, the national tabloid.
“I’m a bit of a patriot myself,” Curt told me, “and it’s a treat to recognize that same quality — pride in your home — in so many other people from so many other places. The political and cultural undercurrents to the contests are just so much richer than a professional sporting event in the United States.”
He continued: “You have no idea how crazy the world is for this. The URINALS in Germany had little soccer nets in them with a ball swinging from the crossbar. I’ve never been anywhere or seen anything where there was such a passion so universally shared by so many people.”
Now the Cup moves to South Africa, another venue fraught with symbolism, and Curt will be watching. He joins Only A Game host Bill Littlefield on today’s Radio Boston for a World Cup preview, including where you can watch the games here in Boston.