We watched happily as the scores of passing Ghanaians celebrated with songs, chants, whistles, trumpets, and festive dance.
World Cup 2006: Wandering Europe
SNAPSHOTS:
1. Paris et Les Invalides
2. Zidane, Ribery, et le Trocadero at Midnight
3. Aller a Strasbourg
4. The Autobahn and the Art of Happiness
5. What Happened in Berlin
6. My Birthday: Berlin in Summer
7. Back in the Thick of It: Ghana v USA
8. Sam's Army, Cognitive Dissonance, and Facepaint
9. Born in the USA
10. "USA!" he yelled. "USA!"
11. And our best player left the field on a stretcher.
 In Berlin |
The second half held only disappointment. Exclusive contracts were to be the only American triumph in this World Cup. The Americans showed great heart and came close to tying the match several times: McBride, who had suffered a bloody gash against Italy, fired a header from close range, only to see it bounce back off the post; Oguchi Onyewu, the best American defender here in 2006, sent another powerful header just high of the net.
The Ghanaians began to fall down on the field, truly injured or perhaps faking, a time-delaying tactic, and then it was over. Ghana was on to the next round, to play Brazil. Team USA was headed home.
Looking back briefly, Team USA conceded the first goal in all three of its matches, which put the defense under pressure to overplay and get into the attack. Worse, and the main problem, the Americans' best attacking players didn't play anywhere near potential. The US doesn't have a luxury of talent; every player has to play and play well. Not that the result was unexpected, unless you follow the FIFA ratings, which, perhaps only for marketing reasons, have listed the US as the 5th best team in the world for the last few months. Better are the mathematically-calculated, constantly updated ELO ratings, where the US is 19th.
Outside the stadium, all the colorful, crazy, face painted fans piled onto Nurnburg's amazingly clean system of trams and trains. Rows of cops looked on. But there was something different about these cops. Their trucks were playing music. Mellow rock. And they were relaxed, smiling. Throughout Germany, everywhere, again and again, I found people to be open and kind.
To Americans, the name Nurnburg may still conjure thoughts of trials and Nazis and sixty-year-old fears. Be that as it may; I can't say whether that will or should change. Today, after all the decades, Nurnburg is a lively unassuming little city with cafes and above-ground public trains and a delightful pedestrian downtown any American city should envy. Noemie and I stayed an extra day to picnic in its parks and visit its amazing medieval castle perched above the city streets. As for the people, there and in Stuttgart, they evince not only kindness and curiosity, but cultural modesty and a deep abiding awareness of the potentially negative aspects of patriotism. These latter qualities would truly benefit our large American population.
Noemie and I rolled a joint in a little meadow in view of the train and of the cops, waiting for the huge crowds boarding the train to thin out. We watched the scores of Ghanaians parade by, celebrating with their songs, chants, and festive dance.