pre-game

Alright. Turkey and Germany play tonight in the semi-final of the UEFA Euro Cup. Over here, it is a big deal. A very, very big deal. I wish I could explain what a big deal it is, but I'll let the Times do it for me (and with good interviews, too). Apart from that, one of the best clips I've seen was a young Turkish-German kid, after the Turkey-Croatia game, just absolutely jubilant, the most excited he'd ever been in his life, and excited about the upcoming game -- because regardless of who wins, one of the two will be in the finals. And that will indeed be huge.

That, however, is not the line the US State Department takes on tonight's festivities, per an email I received yesterday:

June 24, 2008 Warden Message
On Wednesday evening, June 25, Germany and Turkey will meet in the semifinal round of the 2008 European Football Championship in Basel, Switzerland. Various cities in Germany have set up viewing areas for the public to watch the live broadcast of this game. The "Fan Mile" in front of the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin is expected to draw up to 500,000 German and Turkish fans...Similar events are planned in other cities and spontaneous celebrations or demonstrations related to the match may occur throughout Germany.

Because of the high fan interest in this prestigious semi-final elimination game between Germany and Turkey, there exists the possibility that disturbances, including violent disturbances may occur before, during or after the match, which begins at 20:45. At a minimum, post-game celebrations will likely result in traffic congestion in larger cities. Crowds celebrating previous German and/or Turkish victories have blocked streets and rocked vehicles attempting to pass through them.

We remind American citizens in Germany that even mass gatherings and demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. American citizens are therefore urged to avoid the areas of demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times.

So: Do not try to participate in this "European"-style fun, Americans. It's more serious that your sports. Don't go yahoo-ing your way into a public viewing area. Do not drive your car tomorrow night. But mostly, I think, the underlying message should be: pay attention to who the people around you are cheering for, and cheer for that team, too. BLEND IN.

The subject line (because it was sent by the Democrats Abroad, maybe) was "Hold tight to avoid beer spillage". Yar. But the potential for things to get crazy, especially with the lack of prohibitions about public drinking, seems to be on everyone's minds. My friends and I have decided to watch the game at a bar in our neighborhood, where we don't have to take the U-bahn to get home, and can stay in one place (or go back to my apartment). I do have friends who are going to be among the 500,000 on the Fan Mile (which, Amelia read, is only 1.2 km, but whatever)...it's very tempting, but also a little nuts. The Fan Mile stretches from the Brandenburg Gate to the Siegesäule (the Victory Column), in the middle of the Tiergarten, and it's something to see.

But I also think that walking down the street, with every possible bar, restaurant, ice cream shop, and grocery store playing the game, is also something to see. You've never seen so many TVs, hauled out to reach the most people. Suffice to say, tonight's game is my incentive to get my editing done and put in some time at the archives today!