In fairness, I fully intended to get a post written a few weeks ago. The topic had been chosen, and the ideas were floating around in my head. Then, the World Cup started...
This marks the fourth WC that I have been able to view from Europe, and each time I have always appreciated how fantastic the atmosphere is. The whole community just has a buzz about it as people follow the tournament. Sure, I have fond memories of watching WCs when I lived in the US, but despite the growing number of fans who sort of follow the sport in that country, it is simply not the same.
As an example, last week the local newspaper in Dallas posted an article about the ONE place that a fan could best watch the tournament. It just happens to be an English Pub not far from Chris's office, and a pub that I used to visit from time to time when I lived in Dallas. True, it is a good place to go to watch matches (both domestic and international), and both Pablo and my father mentioned the article to me during the course of the week.
Meanwhile, there are about 35 restaurants and bars between my house and the five minute walk to the U-Bahn station. All 35 of those establishments have screens up and are showing ALL of the matches. And, in most cases, particularly for the "bigger" games, those places are full.
Of course, the weather tends to help out; during summer most cafes are pretty full during the afternoons and evenings as everyone enjoys some time outside. This alone makes for a rather pleasant atmosphere. Add the buzz of a footy tournament and the excitement level goes up a couple of notches.
A friend of mine who left Germany last summer to return to the states arrived last week with the intent to experience the WC viewing. He, too, is well aware of how much fun it can be.
Unfortunately, the day he arrived was the day of the last group stage game that Germany were to play. Germany HAD to win in order to advance to the next round.
Those readers who have been following the tournament are already aware of what happened next: a complete and utter crash out. Germany exited the WC in the first round for the first time since many many years, and the fact that they were the Cup holders was just all the more of a kick in the teeth.
That being said, most of the Germans I know all said pretty much the same thing, "We played like crap, never got our act together, and we deserved to crash out."
I was kind of rooting for Germany as well, but I tend to stay a little more neutral in recent years. I know this might come as a slight surprise to guys like Brandon and maybe even Tim, but now days, I simply prefer to watch an exciting event.
The day after Dave arrived, my sister and nephew arrived to spend a long weekend with me in Frankfurt. I had been eagerly anticipating their visit, and was particularly excited that they, too, would be able to share in the neighborhood atmosphere of a World Cup summer. I had already checked the match schedules, and knew that we would have an important Spanish match during the Sunday afternoon.
My sister and I had really no special plans other than to hang out and enjoy the time together. As visits go, I was really pleased that they were here. Part of me suspects that my teen-age nephew was not totally thrilled, but unfortunately I am not all together up to date on what would make a typical teen enjoy visiting another European city. I mean, we were able to hang out in various cafes, went to a cookout at a friend's house, and were able to catch several matches on the various screens. We did hang out in the local market in my neighborhood, and also took a quick walk around the city.
Most people (ie...my father, other friends, aunts and uncles, as well as my sister,on her previous visits) tend to really enjoy the first hand experience of meeting a lot of people in my neighborhood. I have a fair amount of friends and acquaintances, and I am always touched that my local Kumpels look forward to meeting any guests that come to visit me. They actually go out of their way to introduce themselves, engage with my visitors, and ask after my relatives after they have left.
This was totally the case this past weekend. My sister and I had a wonderful time just sitting on the balcony and chatting. My nephew could spend his time on his phone (using my Wifi) and could do his own thing. We were all out and about regularly just meeting and greeting in a relaxed environment. Some other friends came in from out of town, so the whole weekend was pretty active, but in a low-key way. Several people mentioned how much it seemed like "old times."
Old times. New Times. I would probably say simply, "Good times."
And through it all, football matches every day.
Monday afternoon I was going through my let-down period after my sister and nephew headed to the airport, but that evening I was back at the kiosk for the normal Monday evening activities. The particular match that evening was Belgium vs Japan, which turned out to be one of the more exciting matches of the tournament so far.
Tuesday evening, England had to play Colombia, and again, the match became rather dramatic. Unlike the match on Sunday when Spain crashed out on penalties (to the great disappointment of not only my nephew, but yours truly), England actually got through on penalties, which is extremely unusual.
Yesterday was the first day without football pretty much since the tournament started almost 3 weeks ago. After work, I ventured over to the pub for a quiet (extremely quiet) beer outside.
A few other folks were also at the pub, and all of them asked if my sister and nephew had enjoyed their visit and gotten home OK. Then, they also remarked on how absolutely still it was outside. Hardly anyone was walking around or sitting outside; it was a tremendous contrast to the previous weeks when it almost seemed like a nonstop festival going on in the neighborhood.
I absolutely loved it. I greatly enjoy moments of quiet and peace. The summer holidays have started in Frankfurt, so a lot of people are off on vacation anyway. Take away football and it was almost eerily quiet. Almost similar to a really cold winter's day, when hardly anyone (except for myself) ventures outside.
As much as I like football, I really enjoyed a moment where nothing was going on. Tomorrow the matches resume and the streets and cafes will be full. Besides, the weekend is coming.
Glad I could take the time last evening to simply catch my breath.
see you out there
bryan
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