World Cup Fever

(Pardon the reading, I wanted to do something creative.....)

I love the World Cup!

Ok, so I missed most of the matches during my holiday in Singapore, no thanks to the fact that they don't screen the matches for free on TV.

BUT..... back in Germany, I managed to catch the important matches which Germany played in. And oh boy, do I so relinquish the football atmosphere here!

The match between Germany and England was awesome! (Sorry to my English friends.) I think we didn't expect to win the English because they are also champion-quality. Honestly though, I felt that Germany played better than their English counterparts.

When we got into the quarter-finals and won Argentina with a proud 4-0 score, everybody started dreaming of a 4th World Cup win with the youngest football team that Germany has ever had. And oh boy, each time Germany scored, people went ballastic! Everybody jumped up (we were sitting on the floor), vuvuzelas were sounded, people gave high-fives to each other etc.

At last, we were brought back to Earth by the mighty Spaniards. With their immaculate foot work, they formed such a tight guard on the ball that there was little space for the Germans to possess it. That said, you could really read the fear on the German players as they were confronted with some of the best players in the world. Still, a couple of close goals were missed and Germany had to give up their World Cup dream, losing with a close margin of 1-0.

While watching the game, I was reminded of the David and Goliath story in the Bible where David defeated the seemingly undefeated Goliath with just a stone and catapult. The German team have definitely proven themselves to be a "David-in-the-making", having come as far as the semi-finals! :)  I believe that if you give them a couple more years, they themselves could just be a Goliath in their own right.

I don't know why I'm so fixated with the World Cup. Perhaps its the patriotism. Though I'm technically not German, I'm married to one, so that makes me half German?!? haha. Perhaps its the once in four years dream of being a World Champion. Or perhaps its the opportunity to escape into a virtual life where you know that the entire world is glued onto something that is happening at real time.

Whatever it is, its amazing to see how something as simple as football has the power to bring the entire world closer together in unity, in their pursuit for a common goal (pun not intended). How much more can we change when each of us continue to pursue the needs of others. To think of the welfare of our neighbour and to "love our neighbour as ourselves"?

Supporting the German team

Simon and Hubby

The view from Felix's house. He lives on the 8th floor and has a private balcony surrounding the apartment where one gets a bird's eye view of the surroundings. Awesome!

My first BBQ this summer. We BBQed before the match started

The tension and excitement of watching a live soccer match with native Germans...