In which we do some math.

There's been quite some hullaballoo hullaballooing on this side of The Pond. Sure there's some economy flopping about like a fish outta water as the Euro increases in flabbiness, but that's not what I'm talking about. I am talking about the Europameisterschaft, or the Euro Cup, if you will. (= Soccer tournament. I know some of you Americans were wondering.) That's when Greece puts out a little paper cup and everybody kicks euros into it. Or rather, tonight Greece put out their little goal and Germany kicked a lot of Fußballs into it. There was a lot of tension leading up to this match, as the quarter final time had rolled around already and, in case you missed it, there has been a lot of political tension between these two lands as of late. I started out the game secretly rooting for Greece, out of pity and all that. In a recent news story leading up to the game, one Greek was interviewed and said something along the lines of, "Well, we know there isn't much of a chance for us to win, but seeing smiles on Greek faces again in anticipation of the game has been really nice." Paraphrasing, but still. They could use a break. (Well, technically they could use a fix, not another break.) ANYWAY. I armed myself with ice cream, met up with a friend, and we found ourselves a nice spot at the public viewing at the Uni.

Despite all the good samaritan feelings I had been feeling at the kickoff, five minutes in that room and my heart was schlagging schwarz, rot, gold with the best of them.

Now for the math part.

1000 or so enthusiastic Germans + beer + soccer + (goal x 4) + beer + you should probably make sure your volume is down =

To add a little political spice to the soccer soup, Angie Merkel attended the match in her characteristic light green blazer. The camera showed her reactions to the more elating and frightening moments of the game, which was amusing to say the least. Huge cheers arose from the crowd every time she came on screen.

My favorite reactions, however, came from the German (wait! came from the balding dude in front of us who kept shouting "JAWOOOOHL" whenever he got excited) coach, Jogi Löw (You can pronounce that "Luuuurve" if you please. He is somewhat of a heartthrob for some parties, just because he is, like, totally, like, so cute, you know?). But anyway, as Accompanying Friend mentioned earlier, it is very difficult to tell when Jogi is anxious because he always has the same facial expression. Always, except for when one of the teams makes a goal. When it is not his team, he waves his arms around frantically like some sort of exotic bird mating dance. When it is his team, he waves his arms around frantically like some sort of exotic bird mating dance... followed by a fist pump. And for the record, my favorite drunken chant of the evening was the one in which all the big, burly men jump up and down while tonelessly singing, "Wie schön!", aaaaand also for the record, it is almost midnight and things are still exploding outside my window. Wie schön!

Guess the Bild got one thing right: No bailout fund could save them from Jogi. And so the fun continues.