So this coming weekend is opening of the Europameisterschaft, the European football championships, so needless to say most of of the continent + the British Isles will be glued to the TV for the coming month every weekend. I'll be visiting my friend Hendrik to immerse myself in the craziness with friends, but if you were in Deutschland as well, you'd probably head out to one of the "fan miles" (Fanmeile) to watch the games with a thousand other screaming, drunk, enthusiastic fans, as seen above from 2004. A whole park or city square would be set off for each Fanmeile, and huge screens would be set up to show the games throughout the day. The one in Berlin, according to official estimate, can hold 900,000 fans this year. Pretty sweet.
Germany actually has a proud history in this tournament, having won the Meisterschaft 3 times since it's inception in the 60's. France is the only other country that has won more than once, and seeing that the French and Germans still dislike each other this immediately makes for competition. Also, Greece won the Meisterschaft in 2004 with a German coach, bitter irony for my neighbors here for sure. Russia could also be a contender- it's come in second more times than any other country.
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