by Jeannette Berndsen
IT’S BEEN several years since Germany played against the Netherlands. Fun, and exciting, and we could see it live on TV here in Florida. My husband was not at home so I sat down to watch it by myself. Alas, TV broken, now what! There are not many options at the eleventh hour. We had Dutch neighbors who were certainly watching this game, but we also knew that the guy didn’t like watching soccer together with other people, because he figured himself an expert and hated folks who didn’t understand the game the way he did. Hmm, I belonged to the latter category.
What to do? I happened to know another couple who would probably also watch. A quick call and yes, I was welcome. Here the husband was Dutch and the wife was German. They already had the TV on, and the match had been playing already for a while because of the time it took me to get there. A cup of coffee, and there we go. Fun, right?
Well … not really! They were fiercely pro-Germany and I didn’t dare say a word. Every Dutch player was criticized and verbally finished off. The climax came when they turned off the sound and the German lady herself started calling the game, because she considered herself such a big expert.
Gee, how long a simple soccer game can be. I saw very little of it. The commentary was exhausting, because you try to concentrate on watching anyway because, after all, these are always very special games.
Since then I watch sports only at home with my husband and/or children. How calming, and how relaxing. This weekend will bring us Max Verstappen, and we love watching that, what a talent!
* Jeannette Berndsen is an artist in West Palm Beach, Florida.
