World Cup Over - Report from the Fan Mile

I just got back from watching the World Cup Final and partying on the Fan Mile in front of the Brandenburg Gate here in Berlin.  What a night!  I saw the game way down by the Victory Column with a crowd that was mostly Italian.  If that wasn’t clear enough from all the flags and chanting, then you just had to be there when they replayed Zidane head-butting Materazzi - the crowd went ape.

I haven’t followed Zidane’s career or anything, but I remember being in Amman, Jordan when he scored two goals for the win against Brazil in the 1998 final.  The city went crazy for him because he’s Muslim, or at least has a Muslim name.  I’d been hoping for a 1997 NBA Finals, Game 6, Michael Jordan moment where he would score the winning goal and go out on top.  Instead he got ejected, deservedly, for that head-butt.  What a way to end a career.

After the game I spent over an hour walking with the throng of ecstatic Italians and everyone else along the street that leads to the Brandenburg Gate.  Quite a few mopey French fans, but it looked like German booze was helping them cope.  There were also notable contingents of English, Polish, Brazilian and, of course, German fans.  The party showed no sign of stopping when I left around 1 AM, but I was getting tired of hearing songs like YMCA, Macarena, and Summer of ‘69 being used to celebrate the World Cup final (not that they have any better uses).

Just when I was thinking of heading home an Italian guy accidentally stepped on my foot.  After he apologized, he asked where I was from.  When I said the U.S. and added jokingly that I don’t have much to celebrate when it comes to soccer, he corrected me by saying that the U.S.-Italy match ended 1-1, which means the teams are equal.  Clearly a generous guy.

It’ll be interesting to live in post-World Cup Berlin for a couple weeks before leaving for Turkey.  How quickly will the billboards come down?  How cheap will World Cup souvenirs get?  Will next week’s Love Parade, which is happening in the same place as the Fan Mile, help to cure lingering cases of World Cup fever?  If nothing else, I suspect it’ll lure a slightly different crowd to the city (these funny Lithuanians for starters).

Stay tuned for the latest!