Jinxing Gentlemanly German Footie

Do we carry a curse with us? Seems like it. Last Saturday, Bhupal and I, we went to watch England play in an English pub, they lost. In a Brazilian bar, we watch them lose. Yesterday, we went to Goethe Institute. And Germany, many people’s favourite, lost.

Where next? I want Portuguese to win the world cup. Visiting a Portuguese bar in London is out of question then. The funny this is, a Portuguese friend has already invited me. I should kindly decline. Or should we visit the bar and see if this jinx is really working?

In Goethe Institute, about two hundred Germans had gathered to watch football and cheer their beloved Deutschland. The Germans though, seem to lack the elan of the English. They hardly shouted, or sang, and when Germany lost, they seem to smile and take defeat calmly. No agony. No abuses. Nothing.

An English lady who I was chatting with during the football match smiled and looked at me when the Italians scored. I told her to stop smiling, saying the Germans might head butt her. But she seems to know better.

"Believe me," she said, "this isn’t as serious as in the England game."

I have to agree with her.

So we walked out after the match, leaving behind happy German fans, it seems. If we’d gone to an Italian bar, I know how loudly they’d curse everyone, including their own players if they had lost. Oh, we all know about the Italian verve, don’t we? Even the English are no match to that. I guess, in the end, we missed that. We missed the crestfallen faces and everything that came with it.

But the Germans are a good host. No doubt. The world cup has shown that, and yesterday, Goethe Institute showed that to us. Two Germans who I’d befriended during the match thanked me for supporting Germany. I like that. Decent folks.

And oh, I learned two German words. Tora means goal, which unfortunately for the Germans never arrived. And weiss…some kind of German beer. We tried Sneider Weiss. I think I’ll stick to Newcastle Brown Ale.