More than just a game
COLOGNE, Germany — The steps of Cologne's famous cathedral are a sight to behold, 31 stone stairs stretching almost the length of a football field at their longest point.
On this workday, though, the scene on the steps is even more impressive. It's not even noon, and every spare inch is filled with boisterous World Cup fans dressed in their nation's colors. The Germans are standing and singing, the English are waving banners, the Swedes are clapping.
It's so vivid, so dazzling, so unlike anything found in the United States that it looks almost staged. But for those who've never been to the World Cup — and that means most Americans — here's the easiest way to explain it: It's soccer's biggest show, and it's towing a month-long party in its wake.
"Unless you've been to this, you don't understand how important it is. It's the biggest sporting event in the world," said Nathan Richardson, a Chicagoan getting his first exposure to the World Cup.
"There's no reason anybody couldn't enjoy themselves here. It's a big party."
Combine the Super Bowl's hype, the rising cool factor of the NBA finals and the quaint charm of the World Series, and it still wouldn't come close to the World Cup's euphoric atmosphere.
Fans fill the streets laughing, singing, whistling and having an infectious good time. People wear their flags and colors with pride, and there's friendly banter between fans from opposing countries. Aside from a few minor incidents, there's been little of the feared hooligan violence so far.
Restaurants are hopping, shops are bustling and train stations are party central.
And that's even when the Brazilians aren't in town.
"It's a great atmosphere," Matthias Bier, manager of a department store in Kaiserslautern, said as fans made a run on World Cup merchandise a few hours before the Americans played Italy there.
"We will never get it again, so people just enjoy it," Bier said. "They can party all night and I don't think anybody would mind."
The United States is hardly a stranger to big sporting events. But no matter how often the New York Yankees are called world champions or how many different countries the Chicago White Sox hail from, American parties tend to be exclusive. If you don't play in the United States, you can't come.
And while there's certainly plenty of atmosphere surrounding the big events stateside, it's a muted buzz. The hype only lasts a week, maybe two, at most. Fans' loyalties are split down the middle, making it impossible to achieve any sense of unity. All those corporate bigwigs involved don't exactly scream fun, either.
The closest the United States gets to the World Cup vibe is hosting an Olympics. But that isn't quite it, either.
"You'd have to multiply it," said Rand Swenson of Lebanon, N.H., who is at his fourth World Cup. "It's spread over so much of the country. It's like the Atlanta Olympics in a dozen different cities."
The World Cup party in Germany begins at the train station. Because games are being played at 12 different sites throughout the country, fans follow their teams all over. It's easy to tell which teams are playing simply by looking — or listening — to who's getting off the train.
When Switzerland played Togo in Dortmund earlier this week, the train station was so packed with red-clad Swiss fans it looked as if it had been transported to Geneva. The fans were yelling, singing, tooting horns and cheering — and it was still seven hours before kickoff.
Though many fans travel together in small groups, they quickly pick up friends along the way. It doesn't matter if they've never met before. As long as you're wearing the same colors or rooting for the same team, you're a buddy for life.
"You don't see anything like this back in the States," said Beau Beaty of Tallahassee, Fla. "Everything back in the States is so segmented by region. Everyone here is for one country."
"You've got to see it to believe it," said Michael Montney of Springfield, Ill. "That's for sure."
