Narrative: a Magical Summer

FROM: Madlen Davenport

DATE: 17 September 2013

SUBJECT: Narration Final

Germany 2006: A Magical Summer

Wow! What just happened? We had lost. Does that mean that all the last three weeks of great hopes, the permanent excitement about becoming champions in the European soccer Championship were gone forever? It was just devastating to see that wonderful dream vanish in a single second. We were so certain to walk out of this gigantic game as winners, yet suddenly we were the biggest losers. It hit us like an unexpected force of nature. At this particular moment a whole nation that had stood together as one for the first time in more than sixty years shrunk to a little pile of dust. I felt so indescribably empty and lost. Is it possible that this strong feeling of failure can just simply exist from losing a soccer game? After a moment of internalizing the enormous shock I realized — No ! There was a much more considerable significance behind all this euphoria and then disappointment than just being the defeated ones.

It all started in the summer of 2006. The European Championship was just around the corner, and since Germany was going to be the host of this spectacular occasion, everybody was enthusiastic about the upcoming weeks. While final preparations were being made and busy bees were trying to correct the last flaws to present Germany in the perfect light to the rest of the world, the atmosphere was full of excitement and everybody was counting the days until the built-up pressure of anticipation was finally going to be released. It was comparable to a child impatiently awaiting Christmas morning.

As the weeks went along, people’s moods seemed to get better and better, the more games the Germans won. It appeared that the team, captained by Michael Ballack and coached by Jürgen Klinsmann was undefeatable the closer they stepped towards the final. Many national teams stayed in Germany during that...