Facebook was bombarded by messages like “Happy New Year Germany!” and “It's 2011 in Germany now!” at exactly 6 p.m. here in Concord. All the German exchange students from all over the U.S. were online at this point; we all imagined hearing them partying and saw the fireworks in our mind's eye. And then it was over and we had to wait six more hours to welcome 2011, the year of our departure.
For all exchange students who are staying 10 months in America, the half is over now. “It is halftime, Bahar” said my dad on Skype, “and you are up with an enormous amount of goals. You will see if you have won at the final whistle.” He's trying to be philosophical again. His philosophy is soccer. It was very silent and awkward for a short moment, but then I heard the people screaming in the background. Arsenal won against Chelsea. Way to go, Gunners! And now we just need to kick out Manchester United/ Manchester City and we will be No. 1 in the Premier League.
The first thing my dad said when I told him that I would study as an exchange student in the U.S. was: “Oh, Bahar, no soccer anymore! Now you have to watch those big guys hitting and jumping on each other.” At first I thought he was speaking about wrestling, but he actually meant football. My dad's opinion about football is that it is senseless and without a strategy; he is also always complaining about the fact that they are using their hands. Don't be too harsh to him – he has never really watched a football game. He is actually not really interested in any other kind of sport besides soccer.
My dad was always telling me that soccer is a girls' sport in the U.S. Everybody is saying that. America has its own sports, like football and baseball. I have never seen someone playing baseball in Germany. That's exotic!
So I came to America with the assumption that you all suck at playing soccer (the male population at least!), but you always learn in life, or maybe I'm just not having a typical high school year. Concord High's soccer team is good (both girls and boys). But the funny thing is that they are better than the football team. My dad's response to that was priceless: after complete silence (I thought my internet connection was disrupted again), he broke out in laughter and just said “You don't seem to be in the true U.S.”
So when I go back, I will tell everybody about my unique experience with soccer in the U.S. I just want to mention that you really should call it football like the rest of the world. Everybody else is calling your football “American football.” Soccer just doesn't seem to sound right.
I don't really understand the rules of American football, but I'm not the only one. “What does the yellow blanket mean on the ground?” someone once shouted behind me at one of the Concord High games. But that is completely fine; the referees of the World Cup 2010 couldn't even recognize a legit goal (England against Germany in the last 16).
So I would say the perfect match for 2014 for the World Cup in Brazil would be the U.S. against Germany. I don't want to make any prognosis, but I know that it won't be Spain. First of all, Spain has won too much the last couple of years, and their key players will probably be in the retirement home by that point.
Next to beer, soccer is another pastime that keeps people alive in Germany. It's something that connects the world, and it is the only time when people in Europe can show patriotism, especially people from Germany.
As I said, it's halftime; I really should take a break and think about a new strategy. I want to go home as a winner and the second half of the game is still going. My dad is right: You really can compare life to a soccer game. But Manchester United is not going to win the Premier League, that's just unacceptable. Sorry, Dad!
(Bahar Mahzari is a German exchange student spending a year at Concord High. She hails from Cologne.)
