Wednesday, July 7, 2010
THE FASCISTS OF THE FORTIES FANDANGO: Today's Spain-Germany World Cup semifinal doesn't lend itself to the kind of discussion that yesterday's paean to all things Dutch (and any things Uruguayan) engendered. These aren't quirky little beloved countries, but each former holders of the Dominant Global Superpower title, albeit one more recently than the other. Spain has the better food and art; Germany superior car design and beer, and I'm calling it a draw on Contemporary Film Directors Who Are A Bit Nuts (Almodovar v Herzog) ... so do we just talk about who has the better football side?
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I'll note, then, the following:
ReplyDeleteMy favorite German Car: VW Schwimmwagen; Favorite German Beer: Weltenberger Dunkel (Seit 1050); Favorite Spanish Food: Chorizo (I won't fight the hypothetical, but I prefer German food), Favorite Spanish Art: Goya's Third of May
Spain gets demerit points for still having a monarchy, but on the plus side they're not Hasselhoff fans. Go Spain!
ReplyDeleteOne other things the two countries have in common is "jokes" about their fascists leaders that have been run into the ground ("Francisco Franco is still dead"; Hitler responding angrily to something: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZANfF8tQVkk ).
ReplyDeleteFrom the soccer/football perspective, this match could be fascinating given the two teams (Spain played as the best team in the world leading up to the WC, but Germany has been the best team in it) and their styles. Zonalmarking has a typically excellent preview http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/07/07/germany-v-spain-tactical-preview. I'm very irritated I'll be missing this for an ill-timed meeting.
Does it qualify as ironic that after Maradona loudly proclaimed his heterosexuality he is then beaten by Mannschaft?*
ReplyDelete*I think that joke is from the guardian world cup podcast.
I must say, though... the German empire was far, far, far weaker than the Spanish empire. Well... comparatively speaking, of course.
ReplyDeleteI'm just hoping for some uncharacteristically sloppy play by Spain, so I can proclaim that "No one expected the Spanish imprecision."
ReplyDeleteNow, the boyfriend likes German wines, and I will, of course, cheerfully drink some nice riesling. That said, I tend to think that Spanish wines have one of the best quality to price ratios around, and you can both get some really nice Spanish wines, and some tasty inexpensive Spanish wines.
ReplyDeletePlus, in my book, Spanish whites are about perfect for a hot summer night. Inexpensive, tasty, lighter than chardonnay, but with more character than pinot grigio, fruity but not like a soda pop. I could go for a nice Albarino right now....
Albarino is my favorite wine. Man, I should have gotten some to watch during the match.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm rooting for Spain? I'm usually an underdog-rooter, and I guess techinically Germany is the underdog, but they've been playing so amazingly well that it's hard to think of them that way. And Spain is just one of my favorite places on the planet.
ReplyDeleteEr, drink while watching. Not going to stare at wine.
ReplyDeleteBarcelona is one of my favorite cites in the world - the amazing architecture (I'm not an architecture person, normally, but Gaudi! The Illa de la Discordia!), the fabulous food, good music, friendly people, access to a nice little beach with lots of sea glass, it's such a marvelous place to be.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have a toddler cousin who looks adorable in his Barca and Espana (how do I tilde?) outfits. So viva Espana!
¡Viva España!
ReplyDeleteThere, Genevieve, I tilde-d for you. (It's ALT + 0241, by the way,)
Thank you, Aimee! (does that work on Facebook? I'll try it. Viva España!)
ReplyDeletei couldn't agree more re: the fabulousness of barcelona (and a great place to visit with kids, i might add). barcelona definitely has soccer fever today. every boy over the age of 5 is wearing a spanish soccer jersey, most of them have a david villa jersey. on the way home, many of the cars had spanish flags hanging out of their passenger-side window, and lots-o pedestrians were wearing the flag as a cape (if they weren't carrying a flagpole outright). the local movie theater is showing the game on their screens, with huge crowds gathering outside. viva espana!
ReplyDeleteSo much want to bring the kiddo to Barcelona! He's been to Ibiza for a family event, but not Spain otherwise. Maybe next year. And he's a big Barca fan, so we'd have to time it for futbol season.
ReplyDeleteViva Villa! Villa España! Yay for big outdoor crowds watching together!