i reckon...

if the partying increases proportionally each time Germany wins a game in the Euro Cup, then we will be in for one crazy city-wide bash if they can be Croatia in the next round. With a 3-2 win over heavily favored Portugal*, the fireworks were awesome, and the crowds are still going within earshot of my apartment.

This time I didn't take my camera with me when we went to have a look at Danziger Straße -- the crowd was twice as big as last time, with an ad hoc yell leader (complete with tiny megaphone) in the center of a mass of, I don't know, 300-400 people? And then however many more, milling around. It's strange to think you know most of a language and then realize you're completely useless when it comes to football cheers -- but our favorite one was just one player's name chanted in rhythm (Lu-kas Po-dol-ski!). I also like "Su-per Deutschland la-la-la-la!"

Funnier still was that part of the routine of soccer celebration is apparently getting everyone in the group to sit down, then doing a bunch of call-and-response, and then have everyone jump up and get loud again. It's like watching the hokey-pokey, or dancing to "shout!", but instead of a wedding dance floor, you're in the middle of a major intersection, with the subway tracks overhead, and everyone's wearing German flags, jerseys, facepaint, silly hats.

Amelia remarked that it's just so good to see so many happy Germans. It was also good to have a game that really was a good game, and fun to watch the whole time. My favorite player even scored! Start the week off right!

* read this article just for the completely foreign-sounding sports writing. read it aloud in a funny accent, even.