Victory in Olympic Stadium

It was a balmy Saturday evening in Munich, and I found myself amongst thousands of enthusiastic Germans furiously waving their national flag in a rare show of National pride. Sitting on the field of the gigantic Olympic stadium, Germany was playing for third place in the World Cup, against the fierce Uruguay competition. An enormous television screen portrayed the non-stop, toe-curling action as fans fixed their gaze upon every motion of the soccer ball. Like a building wave, a Deutschland cheer grew in intensity, until even my fellow American travelers were belting it with pride. Suddenly, an unbelievable header shot the score up 3-2, Germany, sending the stadium into utter pandemonium. One guy, fabulously adorned in a red, yellow, and black mohawk, snagged a German flag off of his girl friend’s shoulders and promptly shot off into the crowd yelling “Deutschland! Deutschland!” as the elated fans cheered him on.

Walking out with my fellow travelers, we all gushed with enthusiasm over the game, the stadium, the crowd, and how memorable the experience had been. Little did we know, the excitement wasn’t over. In a dash, we squeezed onto the train that would return us back to the heart of the city. Next the me, the shirtless man resembling Fabio recounted the game in German with enthusiastic hand gestures, while I shamelessly looked on with enjoyment. Then from somewhere in the back of the train the “Ole! Ole, Ole, Ole!” cheer burst out and everyone joined in on the excitement. With a broad smile on my face, I knew this would be a moment that I would never forget.