Life: Idiotropic

Exhilaration! I just got back from an evening at the home of a Spanish friend watching the Euro Cup final with the Spanish - an intense game between Spain and Germany! Only one goal was scored, but that's all Spain needed. They were continually making tries for the goal and kept the ball on that half most of the game. Amazing.

Noemi made tapas. I made brownies. We had soda and beer. Shouted and cheered... "venga, venga!" "Ole" Waved our arms and wished the kickers luck. Jumped. All our hearts beat faster. Beatriz kept screaming. We were all nervous.

And the seconds ticked down. Tension grew. And Spain won. Screaming, jumping, hugging...

And then the discussion. Half the group wanted to take the Spanish flag and go to the square and shout and beep the horns and wave the flag - what they would do in Spain and what the Germans would have done if they'd won. But we live here. This is Germany. And the other half were nervous and felt it would provoke the Germans and cause trouble. So we celebrated briefly in. Drank Spanish Cava.

Kirk and I drove home. His horn blaring for Spain all the way. The streets were silent, nearly abandoned. His horn blared alone. We saw no flags. No one celebrated. I think the Germans were in shock.

So the season is over and I won't hear the horns until the next big soccer season. It would have been fun to see the celebration here in Germany - we do live here and it's fun to be a part of that culture. But I am so happy that Spain won. It was the first major win in 44 years and they certainly worked hard for it. Go Spain!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080629/ap_on_sp_so_ga_su/soc_euro2008_final