The Association: Deutschland! Deutschland!

June 09, 2006

Deutschland! Deutschland!

By Craig Kwasniewski

Quick update out here at the World Cup. First some NBA stuff.

You know how they have that annual montage showing ALL of the foreign announcers calling the NBA All-Star and Finals? (Usually we get 3 minutes of some Italian guy screaming "he dunka da balla") Well count out Ireland on that discussion. Three days, no NBA Finals talk at all. In fact I just saw one Grant Hill 1998 Detroit Pistons jersey with that ricockulous horse on the front, nothing else.

So I went back to mass consumption of Guinness. BTW - Y'all should make a trip to beer mecca, the Guinness Brewery. They end the tour with a pint and a view of all of Dublin from the top of the brewery.

So on to Germany. I tried to catch any news of The Finals: Game 1 and found nothing. Only the Guardian UK mentioned that Steve Nash is supporting England in the World Cup. That's all the NBA news I have here.

World Cup brief: All the talk since I arrived in Europe was, "Wayne Rooney - will he or won't he." Rooney is England's best chance at a World Cup title and he broke his foot a while back. Without him they lack that superstar talent needed to win the cup. Constant British news reports are breaking into daily television telling of his condition (even interrupting the Al-Zarqawi news). A HUGE relief to England, Rooney will play in the knockout phase.

I just arrived in Cologne, Germany just in time to catch the opening match on a big screen in the town center. Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 and the streets are flooded with Germans celebrating like Miami did after they won the Eastern Conference Championship. Literally, the past 45 minutes I can hear cars honking non-stop out my hotel window among chants of, "Deutschland! Deutschland!"

Tomorrow is my first game, Sweden versus Trinidad & Tobago. My dilemma is trying to gawk at some smoking hot Swedish chicks without the wife catching me.

(Below is the viewing area in Cologne)