Germany narrowly beats mediocre Polish team; pandemonium sweeps nation

I'm not sure how the Germans will outdo last night's scene if they actually do win the World Cup. Here in Berlin, craziness erupted when Neuville's late goal sealed a win against Poland and a spot in the second round. And I don't mean that there was a general sense of celebration, either, but rather that the streets were beseiged by cars with horn-honking drivers and crazy German fans standing atop moving vehicles waving their nation's flag. Eventually, the police closed down many areas (including around the Kurfuerstendamm where I'm at) and turned them into gigantic pedestrian malls that were overrun by celebrating Germans (and defiant, flag-waving Poles).

It was great but I've just got to say the intensity of the response surprised me. After all, so far the Germans have looked shaky at best in their two wins. They scored four against Costa Rica but let in two against a team that is really not very good (they just got schooled against Ecuador 3-0 today for an early exit from the tournament). Then against Poland the game looked for all the world like it was going to end in a draw until Neuville's late heroics. The victory was truly exciting but considering that Poland looked awful in their first game--which Ecuador won, 2-0--the result hardly flatters Germany.

The other strange thing about yesterday's Germany-wide hysterics was that the game produced an entirely unsurprising result. Everyone expected Germany, the host and world soccer power, to get out of their group at least--especially when they were drawn against such lightweight opponents. I could imagine a city-stopping celebration if the team won the World Cup or even if they got an exciting result in a knockout round, but what went down yesterday would be the equivalent of Detroit natives rioting when the Pistons merely clinched a playoff spot in the notoriously weak NBA Eastern Conference.

Then again, maybe I underestimate the German appetite for parties. It could be that however impressive last night's outpouring was, it was only the appetizer, and that the main courses are going to be even more resplendent still. I'll be happy to discover that I was wrong about all this.

{Pic #1: German fans celebrate Neuville goal @ Berlin FanFest.}

{Pic #2: Fireworks dot Berlin sky as celebrating motorists cruise the Ku'damm area.}