Archive: Jason in Germany
Slackers on Parade
From: Jason The German police have dropped the ball again, and Frankfurt is a mess once more. A few weeks ago this city buckled while the English fans ram rampant, and today the police here faltered while a student protest was allowed to cripple all traffic - pedestrian, public transport and automobiles - with fans trying to get to the stadium for Holland-Argentina. It was an utter and complete joke and appalling to watch. Students were irate that they have to pay 500 Euros a semester for college here, so they sat in the street, stood in front of trams and subway cars and the German police, armed as can be, sat back and watched it all. Instead they hovered above in helicopters and closed many streets, but allowed the demonstration to continue on in precisely the location where it could derail most everything taking place on match day. There...
By Jason La Canfora | June 21, 2006; 01:49 PM ET | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
God Save The Queen
From: Jason La Canfora Frankfurt belongs to the English this weekend. They really are everywhere, they travel in packs and many of them seem incapable of subtlety. Getting off the train from Munich at the central station in Frankfurt, you're immediately confronted by images of red and white everywhere. The English flag, with its red cross, seems to be the en vogue fashion accessory, most frequently draped around the posterior of blokes like a patriotic sash. By 10 am this morning the Irish bar across the street from the train station - proclaiming itself the headquarters of the English fans - was packed and throbbing, and beers was flowing in the streets. There were some minor fights Friday night, but only a few arrests, and so far so good on the hooliganism front. I will say they can be just plain annoying, though. Leaving the train station in the cab...
By Jason La Canfora | June 10, 2006; 07:46 AM ET | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)
ZOOROPA
From: Jason La Canfora Munich is going bonkers. I got to the stadium five hours before kickoff, and a zoo of humanity awaited me. People were clustered and lined up all around Allianz Arena, and, with absolutely nothing else out here besides the stadium itself, they had little means of occupying themselves. Underneath the stadium it was like a refugee camp. The masses of people involved of pre-game festivities - decked out in all kinds of traditional German outfits - were hanging out on large tarps strewn everywhere. Some were sleeping. God knows how early they had to get here. Not everyone can pull off lederhosen, I'll say that much. The streets were packed, traffic was a nightmare and everyone seemed to be having a great time, anyway. There had been an all-day pre-game show airing on TV, and they shots from around the country of people gathered in city...
By Jason La Canfora | June 9, 2006; 09:24 AM ET | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
I'm Too Sexy For This Blog
From Jason La Canfora: Hide the women and children and pray this epidemic never makes it Stateside. The bald, buff, one-hit-winder whack jobs behind "I'm Too Sexy" are back. At least in Germany. And you thought Right Said Fred were working as bouncers at some bar in Turkey. No, they're actually getting decent airplay over here for some horrendous drivel called "Stand Up (For the Champions)," joining a mass of talent-less European acts who try to cash in every four years with their hackneyed World Cup anthems. All I'll say is, RSF's dress code remains undeniably unfortunate, and please, please, don't waste $2 to download this ditty even for pure comedic value. Now, if the video is on the web somewhere that's a different story, because at least to me, under the influence of a few fine Bavarian pilsners, the frock that the singer wears in this video was something...
By Jason La Canfora | June 7, 2006; 11:34 AM ET | Comments (22) | TrackBack (0)
