It's finally over, and from my perspective as a longtime American resident of Germany, the overall performance of the hosts was exemplary. Lots of enthusiasm (which I think helped lift up their team), newfound pride in being German (which I hadn't seen here in five previous World Cups), no major security problems that I have heard about, visible efforts by public transportation folks and much more. The few negatives that messed it up a bit included some of the fans who forgot what deodorant and showers are for, the shops which marked up already-expensive goods to obscene prices, FIFA's ticket handling, stupid television commercials that could rival America's (Beckenbauer's ego is sick!), commercial sponsors acting like the horses' butts while chasing the only thing important to them ($$$), nasty cigarette smokers in some of the pubs & restaurants I frequented (Germans need public health laws!), late start by stores on getting football gear out to customers and a few other annoyances.
Tags: