Football & Politics Meet At The Euro 2016

As a simple person, my simple pleasures are known to everyone. I'd go as far as saying that politics and football are my only hobbies, and clearly I love to see them both inter-whined. As one can guess, a competition that is featuring representatives of a certain nation, united (or not united) under a flag, politics are easy to spot in the Euros. And yes, this year, we've had a few wonderful moments as well where my political heart was able to beat for nations like usually only referendums can... Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself...

#1 Brexit 2.0

I like to emphasize how much psychology affects the happenings on the field, and who is surprised that the British exited the tournament the way they did after the unceremoniously exited the EU just a few days earlier like a bunch of drunk, skinhead hooligans. The entire world probably failed to feel bad for that embarrassment after the English (and Welch, I guess) have become a flagship of xenophobia and making ridiculously detrimental political decisions. I myself usually regarded the English with favor, yet their self-pronounced status as a favorite of the tournament has made me chuckle since 1966, or at least since I had to actually listen to it. My favorite political joke came after their demise as well, celebrating Roy Hodgson as the only man in Britain ballsy enough to enact Article 50. Now that Walesand England let the UK down, it's on Andy's shoulders once more to bring honor to the country. Maybe the last time he will be a "British" champ... 

#2 Hail Sigthorsson!

That's right, the guy scoring the final goal for Iceland in their game past the group stage was called Sieg-Tor-Sohn, which basically means the son of the victory goal in German, no joke. Quite opposite of the English popularity, everyone was cheering for these guys. And when I can't decide who to root for in an international match, I usually choose politics. In that respect, Iceland thoroughly deserved that win over the old, racist English folk who will now die in large numbers not being a winner at anything. Iceland, this year, impeached its prime minister and made the Panama Papers one of the most transparent media investigations to ever influence politics. They also own equal rights. And now they are one of Europe's best 8 teams. Oh, those wonderful football moments... 

#3 Should we just hand it to France?

France really needs some cheery times, don't they? Mass protest and terrorism seem to have a favorite holiday destination and it seems to be France. And that's where the tournament takes place. Now France can't really win unless they play at home, so it's their once in a lifetime chance (again!) to make it or break it. And in fact, if I had a dime for every time someone said to me that they are supporting France because "they deserve it after all those terror attacks" I'd be rich. I would also like to smash their heads in but it only really goes to show that politics and football are indeed affecting the same brain region. So, I guess, in two years we'll all be backing Afghanistan to become the world champion, right?

#4 Neighborhood Feuds
Germany and Poland or Hungary and Austria, there's so many games that could be played with neighbors. As a citizen of Germany who lives less that three minutes walking from two other countries, a neighborhood duel is always fun. At the same time, you get dickhead Dutch guys come across the border to cheer for our opponents, and vice versa. The Dutch don't like us, and therefore they want us to lose. Again, and vice versa. This is a hereditary hatred, and not the bitterness that resulted in the Germans hating the Italians. They used to beat us at football, so we hated their game, but we still liked to vacation at Lake Como. I couldn't care less if Italians played nice football, I will always want them to lose. But sometimes, one's hate for a country actually affects who you root for. And that is so not a matter of who plays well...