Day 1:Scene 1: We are sanding at the City-Bahn (tram) station watching scene 2. Two German fans suddenly arrive in front of us. Both of them carrying mega-size German flags. One of them waves the flag over us. He blessed us, literally. We had arrived in the land of FIFA World Cup 2006.
Scene 2: Watch. (Sorry for the lack of audio, blame it on my camera - it doesn't record audio. All the cars blaring their horns simultaneously.)
All this after Germany had beaten Costa Rica 4-2 at Munich in the opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
What I witnessed in Nuernberg was nothing out of the ordinary. I had seen it before. On TV.
Cars piling up on the street waving the national flag, blaring their horns. People running down the middle of the road. More than fifty cars piled up on the street in an organized Bangaloresque traffic jam. Thousands of football fans watching the match on a big screen, drinking beer. Singing songs. Waving flags.
We have seen it all. On TV. Every other day you'll hear or read - India is crazy about cricket. I say, on a scale of 10, we'll (cricket crazy Indians) will get a 2 and the Germans (or for that matter any European or Latin American football playing - in the WC - country) will get a 10. And I say that when Germany has defeated Costa Rica in just a first round match. I feel imaginatively challenged to I try to think what might happen if they win the cup!
I watched the match along with about 25000 (may be more) German (and a few Argentine, Mexican, Iranian and English fans) at the Fanfest. To know what it was like see the pictures below and all here (there are actually some more, but I exceeded the flickr upload limit for the month). And the videos here and here.
[I'll be able to publish this only on Monday and by that time I would have seen Argentina and England playing their first matches. For Argentina's match I'll be back at the Fanfest and to see England I am planning to visit an English pub.]DAY 2:
Argentina is on their way. And Aimar did not touch the ball. Tevez and Messi did not even play. But I must appreciate the way Ivory Coast played in the second half. Especially Drogba and Zokora. But Riquelme has already shown he is not another Ortega. He doesn't move very fast, or much, but controls the game from the midfield. And his passes and dead-ball deliveries does the rest.
I was properly prepared to watch Argentina's opening match. Check here. There weren’t too many people to watch the match. May be a few thousands only. And most of them were supporting Ivory Coast. (For the Germans it seemed - "the enemy's enemy is my friend".)
There was some half-time entertainment. Earlier in the day I watched England's opening match in a English pub. Sipping English beer. And listening to people speak English. The English though seemed lost without Rooney. Even Gerrard and Lampard were not seen much in the match (except some wayward shots by Gerrard and a few on-target ones from Lampard).
After the match I went for a walk in the city centre. And I saw people. As I had never seen before. Thousands crowding the streets, sitting on the roadside cafes sipping on cappuccino or beer. Mexicans, Iranians and English fans. Making a lot of noise.
Day 3:Today I learnt the secret of Bollywood choreographers of yester years. (Especially those choreographing the likes of Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand and Dharmendra.) Those were the days when there was no TV in India. There was no chance for us (I know I wasn't there, but still) to watch the World Cup and definitely no chance to watch Samba.
TV and the World Cups brought Samba to our drawing rooms. Virtually. And today I saw it. Live. And I learnt.
Whatever I may have written about the football fans here, I must admit, the Brazillians beat everyone hands and legs down.
We were on a walk when we saw the samba. But before that, and before we had the ice-cream, we encountered a volunteer guiding foreign fans. He thought we (because of me) were Argentines. He guided us to this place so we may have a beer and watch Mexico and Iran battle. Unfortunately I could not take his photo when I told him, after all he thought about and did for us, that we were from India. 
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