¡España es el campeón!

I had a beautiful and memorable Euro '08-Final Sunday!

Ishan, Fabian and I started our day by going to Church at 12:30. The Mass (in Spanish) was followed by a get-together that we shared with all the members of our community.

Fabian and his Dad chose to go home early, but for me...it was just the beginning!

Initially, I too was heading home after the get-together was over, but I decided to take a walk through the Schlossgarten because I knew it was "Family Day" and there was a big summer party there.

As I walked into the park, I noticed people were enjoying sausages and beer, kids were having their faces painted...I walked some more: enjoyed Argentinian Tango...walked some more and to my surprise I found Fabi's Capoeira teacher about to start a presentation. I met with some friends who had been in Church with me earlier and we enjoyed the show. Slowly several Latinamerican women started arriving and I came to know that the Latino-band Salsaborr was going to play dance music. To make a long story short, I'll just say that I danced a lot: with my old friends, my new friends...and even people I didn't know :)

After I stopped swirling for a minute I spotted my old friend Max (also from my Erlangen University days). I watched the EURO '08 final game in the Schlossgarten with Max and his friends. It was fun! You know why? Because when I left my house that morning I didn't know that the snacks that Ishan had made to share at the get-together after Church would also be enjoyed during the final soccer match in the middle of the Schlossgarten.
I have to admit most of us initially were hoping that Germany would win the game. I didn't want Poldi to be sad and I guess I was being selfish when I thought it would be just plain cool to celebrate among the Germans if they ended up being the winners. Only Max was rooting for Spain. When the first half of the game was over, Spain was winnning 1 to 0 and as the second half continued I realized how well the Spaniards were playing. There were only 3 minutes left before the game was over when I realized that Spain really deserved to win: not only because they were playing well, but because it was about time already! ...

I was fearing tears and dramatic manifestations of sorrow among all those people who had gathered to see their team play. However, when Spain scored their goal, instead of the drama, I only witnessed silence. No screams of anger, no crying....nothing. And when the game was over....everybody got up and started heading back to their homes. It looked like people were watching a movie instead of a live game. (Just like when a movie is over...everybody just gets up from their seat and starts walking out of the cinema.)

So, I got to live exactly the opposite of what I was hoping for (CELEBRATION!) I think the Spaniards celebrated big in Nürenberg, though....but here in Erlangen, people just "turn the page" and I'm sure this Monday morning it's business as usual for everyone. Note to Christoph Metzelder: you may now go ahead and shave your beard, please.

I guess the Germans who were in Spain got to celebrate more than the Spaniards in Germany.

So long...soccer fans...see you in June 2010 in South Africa! Only 710 days, 12 hours, 44 mins, 50 secs more to go...