Blogabroad
by Mary Pinckney Waters
May 4, 2006
“Wir wollen ein’ Touchdown!” yelled an avid fan from the
Bamberg Bears stands. Apparently, as we discovered yesterday, Europeans do
play American football, just very poorly.
We learned of the game earlier this week from a stack of
free tickets at a schnitzel stand and headed out yesterday
afternoon to the “Stadion,” a large couple blocks
of sports fields where the game was to be held. We passed
a skate park and a hockey game before hearing the synchronized
sigh of a crowd.
Upon finding the game, we rushed past the opposing team’s
stands – the Erlangen Sharks – to show our support
for our since-seven-month hometown. Once we found seats,
we looked around, wrinkled our foreheads, chuckled to ourselves
and felt sort of at home. It seemed like a small-town American
high school game, except with German announcements and Bratwurst
concessions.
Most of the players looked about high school-aged with a
few exceptions. We asked how the teams were formed and learned
this was a club sports league; anyone interested could play
for a fee. In Germany, students always play sports through
club teams because there are no school-affiliated teams.
(Imagine high school without those Friday assemblies in the
name of pep!) Cheerleaders in three height groups were also
in attendance.
It was clear that efforts were made to make the event as
American as possible. I’m sure if Germans attended
an Oktoberfest celebration in the United States, they would
appreciate our intentions with moderate fun-poking, maybe
even high to extreme, and we did the same at the Bamberg
Bears football game.
The skill level of the players was laughable. I’m
not trying to be mean, simply report with journalistic accuracy.
Many of the players appeared to have washed their hands with
lubricant, possess extreme ball-phobia or be invisible. The
cheerleaders were slightly better; they didn’t drop
one another. They cheered in English with an en masse German
accent, but without the permanent plastered smiles and hyperactivity
of your typical American cheerleader.
The crowd demographic didn’t remind us of the “good
ol’ boy” football fans we knew at home. A glance
into the stands often yielded dreadlocks, piercings, black
leather and hair dye. Other attendees appeared to be team
members’ family and friends, as well as Americans.
Many U.S. soldiers come to the games to enjoy a day of (almost-)
American culture while they’re stationed away and to
spend time with their families on the weekends.
Concessions sold Bratwurst and steak sandwiches, sodas, beer,
coffee and baked goods, along with Bamberg Bears T-shirts,
jerseys and helmets. An inflatable trampoline house kept children
entertained. With their lubed hands and invisible team members,
Bamberg lost 40 to 16, but you can bet we’ll still be
at the next game cheering on our home team.
Mary Pinckney Waters welcomes your comments
and feedback: marypwaters@yahoo.com |
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