Monday, June 14, 2010

The Kids Are All Right: Germany 4:0 Australia


The news/advertising video screen on the elevator this morning displayed a question seeking e-mailed responses: Write in and tell us: What would it take to get you to watch the World Cup?

Okaaay. If you don't think your audience (San Francisco Financial District professionals) are into the World Cup enough to watch a game, why not put something else on your li'l screen instead of the World Cup? The rest of the media does that pretty well, so just follow their lead.

Granted, my interest is a bit higher than normal today, having enjoyed Germany's whacking of Australia's Socceroos yesterday. I didn't really expect much widespread coverage of the game, especially on a day when Boston beat Los Angeles in game five of the NBA finals. Nonetheless, the reporting that was out there – even in the normally germanophobic British press – seemed to get it right: It was the best performance by a team so far in the World Cup, a victory made all the better because people had been wondering right up to the beginning of the game whether this could be the year that the Germans finally lost in the first round.

I was sorry to see the Australians take it on the chin; I will root for them to go further in the tournament. But they were really outclassed in this matchup.

Sunday's game was a good one. Now let's see the Nationalmannschaft follow up with a great game against Serbia on Friday. They're likely to see a tougher game than they had yesterday, but at least they've proven they're not too young or inexperienced to win at this level.

PS: Here's a funny and somewhat sharp commentary on a side controversy sparked by a ZDF half-time commentator in Germany, who mad a bizarre Nurenburg rally comment. You can't make this up.

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