The most popular game in the world is probably at the peak of its popularity at the moment because of the world cup. Every time there is a match involving Germany, plenty of people can be found on the streets and at the public viewing areas wearing German colours and drinking beer.
The world cup makes me nostalgic as I used to watch the world cup matches with my dad when I was a child. He loved to watch sports on TV and since he didn't have sons and nobody else at home was interested, I think he liked the fact that I joined him. He would patiently answer all my questions and would let me stay up late when the tournament was held in a different time zone. Argentina and Italy were my childhood favourite teams and some of my favourite stars were Maradona, Baggio and Batista.
Now, much to DH's consternation, I support the German team. There are ofcourse no superstars or on court dramatics. They are methodical and consistent and are often accused of being boring. We went for an exhibition match before the national team left for Brazil. While the fans were happily cheering their team, there was no euphoria, no fan-girls or anybody trying to get up close to their sporting heroes. I think the celebrity worship culture has not yet caught up here or maybe it is because they play as a team and there is no one superstar in the team. I do not follow german media and that could be the reason why I have this impression. But, I know for sure that if it were a cricket match in India, there would be plenty of fans going wild trying to get as close as possible to their favourite player. Sachin Tendulkar ofcourse has the status of God in India. I didn't feel that any of the German players enjoyed that kind of cult status. Anyway, all of these factors don't really stop me from enjoying the matches. I would love it if Germany or Argentina won the world cup. Go guys!
The world cup makes me nostalgic as I used to watch the world cup matches with my dad when I was a child. He loved to watch sports on TV and since he didn't have sons and nobody else at home was interested, I think he liked the fact that I joined him. He would patiently answer all my questions and would let me stay up late when the tournament was held in a different time zone. Argentina and Italy were my childhood favourite teams and some of my favourite stars were Maradona, Baggio and Batista.
Now, much to DH's consternation, I support the German team. There are ofcourse no superstars or on court dramatics. They are methodical and consistent and are often accused of being boring. We went for an exhibition match before the national team left for Brazil. While the fans were happily cheering their team, there was no euphoria, no fan-girls or anybody trying to get up close to their sporting heroes. I think the celebrity worship culture has not yet caught up here or maybe it is because they play as a team and there is no one superstar in the team. I do not follow german media and that could be the reason why I have this impression. But, I know for sure that if it were a cricket match in India, there would be plenty of fans going wild trying to get as close as possible to their favourite player. Sachin Tendulkar ofcourse has the status of God in India. I didn't feel that any of the German players enjoyed that kind of cult status. Anyway, all of these factors don't really stop me from enjoying the matches. I would love it if Germany or Argentina won the world cup. Go guys!
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