Le Virus.Final

Today was the last day of the world cup. Throughout the whole event, I watched a total of six games, learned the names of half of the German team, adopted the French team as mine to cheer on, screamed at the TV like a psychotic fan, ran up and down Leopoldstrasse drunk, had extensive discussions about matches over the phone with my sister and came thisclose to purchasing polyester. In an attempt to avoid being in a state of denial, I must admit that I had the virus all along.

It was inevitable since it was the only thing everybody around me could talk about. I am also tragically drawn to chaos like a moth to a flame and the world cup brought an excellent amount of craziness to Germany. Leopoldstrasse was closed down almost every night, fans sang on the 53 bus on my way home from work, u-bahns were filled to the brim, stores were open later than usual, all kinds of languages filled the usually-empty streets and people littered (!) without a care. I am especially proud of the Germans who, whenever winning a game, poured out onto Leopoldstrasse and walked up and down the street drinking beer, while some stood and drank beer and the really crazy ones sang and waved flags. They really came out of their shell.


Right now the streets of Schwabing are filled with people celebrating tonight’s Italian victory. Tomorrow the streets will be clean again, tourists will go back home, and locals will resume their everyday lives with an added sense of nationalistic pride. It was nice having everybody in town for some partying, but it is time things return to normal. I leave you with some lovely pictures of two of my favorite players. With such pretty faces, it is easy to see why I succumbed to the lure of le virus.

Jens Lehmann

Zinedine Zidane
French Captain


Congratulations Italy!