Wednesday, Jun. 21, 2006

Victory In Berlin

Watching Berlin celebrate last night, after Germany's elegant 3-0 victory over Ecuador at the Olympic stadium to clinch Group A, was a rare lesson in the virtue of sport. Along the "fan mile", a pedestrian mall that runs from the Brandenburg Gate to the Victory Column (once the site of marches to celebrate another kind of battle) more than half a million young fans turned out draped in their national colors to watch the heimspiel on huge screens.The sound of the crowd rose in unison: the intake of breath as Miroslav Klose lined up the ball, the whoop as it bounced off the crossbar, the 'awww' of recognition when Angela Merkel, looking happy and maternal, appeared on the screen.

After the game, commuter stations across the city were filled with the blast of air horns and dancing fans. A group of schoolgirls sat next to me on the S-bahn riding home from the celebrations. They sported German red, black and gold flower necklaces with matching color skirts and were blasting a trumpet like air horn in my ear but they paused when a group of English boys walked by on the platform, and waved. Their frustration was reserved for Germans who'd managed to get tickets to the match. As the train pulled into the station, they shouted at their more fortunate fellow fans: "Schweine!!"

The pleasure of Berlin these days is that the games can be enjoyed everywhere, on the lawn, at the bar, even at home. The city is wide open and everyone seems to be watching the fussball. Walk down the Spree River from the old center to the leafy Tiergarten and you can follow the progress of games from bar to beergarden to restaurant each step of the way, and all in the open air.

In the restaurant near my office the other night, a group of French tourists came in for a plate of spaghetti. A five-year-old separated from them and plunked herself down alone in front of the big screen at one end of the room. She was almost swallowed up in the color and movement and light before her — except for a small black red and gold German flag waving gently in her hand.

German n ationalism is back then, but in a good way. For visitors, the sound of millions of Germans singing the national anthem to the tune of Deutschland Uber Alles may give some pause, but this new feeling is being born in the most multicultural and transparent of atmospheres. After all, the Croats, the English and the Swedes are not exactly being shy about their national colors. And Turks are flying Turkish flags here even though Turkey is not even in the tournament.

In this setting, Germany's outpouring is normal. And if the Mannschaft continue to play on the field in the way they have been, the world well may begin to see it their way.