World Cup 2010

Watching the World Cup games from Germany has been amazing. First, we are lucky that the time zone for the host nation offers us to watch the games live during the middle of the day (typically either 1:30pm, 4pm, or 8:30pm). This is a great change from years past where watching the games in the middle of the night was the only way to catch a match live. There was the option of watching a re-broadcast later in the day, but this always presented the hazard of learning the final results from the morning Sporstcenter before I could watch the match through it's entirety.

Another great experience has been observing the pride of German citizens as they decorate their home, their car, and whatever else they can think of in the colors of their national flag. For the past several weeks most cars have been proudly decorated with a flag and rear-view mirror cover in the color of the national flag. As for the homes, well, I believe these pictures summarizes it best:





Sadly I did not have our camera when I witnessed a baby stroller going down the sidewalk with a large German flag fastened to the handle.

As for watching the games, our Slingbox has been working overtime to provide us coverage for all matches thus far. When it comes to the German team playing, the local sportplatz is the preferred venue to feel firsthand the country pride and spirit......

....which includes the German colors being applied to your cheeks. Not sure we had much of a choice in the matter.


In spite of the USA team falling this past Saturday to Ghana (again), we are enjoying watching the matches as the level of play continues to rise with each round. If you need to find us this Saturday afternoon, look for us at the Sportplatz as we watch Germany play to advance to the semi-finals.