Clemens Wergin: Germany must lose the Euro 2012 Championship

The German soccer team has performed well in the 2012 European Championship, winning its first three contests and reaching the quarter-finals.  On Friday Germany faces Greece and is the overwhelming favorite to win and advance to the sem-final.  But Die Welt columnists Clemens Wergin, writing in The New York Times, is hoping for a Greek upset: 

Germany is a favorite to win the 2012 championship now under way in Poland and Ukraine, having chalked up decisive wins in its first two games this week. Domestic bliss should reign in my home. So why does the foreign-policy guy in me keep hoping Germany will lose?

The painful fact is that a German victory over the rest of Europe would strengthen a notion that many Europeans harbor already: that the Continent is ruled by a new regional superpower.

If Greece should prevail, there will be an outpouring of euphoria and a national celebration.  But reality will set in the next day, and Greeks still will face the austerity-induced misery of day-to-day existence.  And they will continue to blame Germany for their woes.

What is it that keeps millions of soccer fans in Germany and Greece glued to their television sets for 80 minutes, watching young athletes kick a ball up and down a field?  Harald Lange, who runs the Institut für Fankultur in Cologne has identified three factors:

1. Ursache: Die Bedeutungslosigkeit

Objektiv gesehen hat es für die Zuschauer keine persönlichen Konsequenzen, ob die Lieblingsmannschaft verliert oder gewinnt. Der Chef wird nicht netter, der Kontostand nicht erfreulicher und die Schwiegermutter nicht zahmer. Gerade das ermöglicht es den Fans jedoch, sich den Emotionen beim Zuschauen voll hinzugeben und aus ihrer Haut zu gehen. Wer sich in ein Fußballspiel hineinsteigert, kann extreme Freude und Leidenschaft erleben - ohne dass er persönliche Nachteile fürchten muss.

(1. Meaninglessness:  The truth is that there are no personal consequences to the fans whether the favorite team wins or loses. Your boss won't be any nice to you, your bank account will not be fatter nor will your mother-in-law be any nice.  But that is precisely why fans can give into their emotions and go wild while watching the game. WHen you immerse yourself in a soccer match you can experience extreme joy and passion - without being worried about any negative personal consequences. )

2. Ursache: Die Spielstruktur

Eine weitere Besonderheit des Fußballs ist seine Unberechenbarkeit. Sie treibt Fans an den Rand des Wahnsinns, in die Aufregung hinein, in seltenen und tragischen Fällen sogar bis hin zum Herzinfarkt, wie eine Studie der Universität München zur Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2006 zeigt. "Die Leute gehen zum Fußball, weil sie nicht wissen, wie das Spiel ausgeht", sagte schon Sepp Herberger, dem 1954 als Bundestrainer mit seiner Mannschaft das Wunder von Bern gelang.

(2. The Structure of the Game. A further peculiarity of soccer is its unpredictability. It drives fans to the brink of insanity, to extreme excitement, and in a few tragic cases even to heart attacks, as shown in a study by the University of Munich on the 2006 World Cup. "People go to see soccer because they don't know what the outcome will be,"  said Sepp Herberger, who achieved the "Miracle of Bern" as coach of the 1954 German national team)

3. Das Gemeinschaftsgefüge

"Die Menschen suchen im Fußball in erster Linie Unterhaltung und Spaß", sagt Lange. "Hinzu kommt aber auch die Identifikation und die Zugehörigkeit." Sie zeigt sich an den Trikots und Fanschals. Sie manifestiert sich in Stadiongesängen, in die bis zu 80.000 Fans im Stadion einstimmten. Und in den Gesprächen. Selbst wenn Menschen ein Spiel allein vor dem Fernseher gucken, tauschen sie sich anschließend in der Regel darüber aus. Auch Autokorsos haben zum Ziel, die gemeinsame Freude zu zelebrieren.

(3. The communal feeling."People turn to soccer primariyl for entertainment and fun," says Lange. "But there is also the sense of belonging." This is displayed in the team shirts and scarves. It manifests iteslf in the stadium songs, sung by up to 80,000 fans in the stadium. And then in conversations. Even when people watch a game alone in front of the TV they talk about it aftewards with others. )

So let's enjoy the "beautiful game" and then talk about it aftewards.  I'm cheering for the German team, but  - and this is the beauty of the sport - Clemens Wergin's wish could come true!

Comments

[Volker]

Don't be surprised if you have to watch the game for 90 min. Happens a lot nowadays.

[Harvey Morrell]

And if you add injury time at the end of each half, you get to watch it for 90+ minutes. Was happy to see an 1860 pennant when Bender scored against Dänemark. Einmal Löwe, Immer Löwe.

[michijo]

I doubt losing would make people feel any better in Serbia, where they still suffer from depleted-uranium poisoning from NATO bombardment, though the breakup of Yugoslavia helped Germany immensely, enough for them to arm the fascist Ustashi - again! If they had wanted to stop Germany from rising up, that would have been the time. Too late now. Germany and the USA will rule Europe under the banner of neo-fascism.