Americans are almost alone in the world with their lack of enthusiasm for the game known as “football” everywhere but in America, where it is called “soccer.” Although the Germans know about baseball and American football, neither of these New World sports is very popular or widespread in Germany or Europe. Although an annual American football exhibition game in Berlin has become a recent tradition, German boys still grow up playing Fußball (soccer), not [American] football. [See German soccer links below.]
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This advertising column in Berlin announces the annual American football exhibition game. Several German cities have American football teams. (See team Web sites below!) PHOTO © Hyde Flippo |
The German Sports Federation (DSB, Deutscher Sportbund) has 19 regional federations and numerous associated sports groups. The DSB, with more than two million volunteer coaches and officials, is one sign of how sports-minded the Germans are. Another is the profusion of sports facilities all over Germany playing fields, gymnasiums, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and even olympic training facilities...
One out of three Germans is a member of one of the many sports clubs across Germany that offer opportunities to play soccer, handball, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and other sports...
In Germany and the other German-speaking countries, golf is still something of an elitist sport, considered a pursuit of the well-to-do, an expensive diversion for tycoons and the upper echelons of business. Public golf courses are virtually unknown. Beautiful golf facilities can be found, but usually at a price. If you are a golf fan, your best hope is that your company can provide you access to the sport. Usually, the only alternative is to join a golf club or pay relatively high private greens fees. The German Open golf tournament is held in Düsseldorf in August.
Through the well-known successes of German tennis stars like Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Michael Stich, and Anke Huber, tennis has become one of the most popular sports in Germany. [See Tennis links below.] Similar to golf, there are few public tennis courts in the German-speaking countries, but private tennis courts (indoor and out) dot the land. For an hourly fee, you can play on clay or artificial-turf courts...
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A popular public bathing pond in Burghausen, Bavariacastle and all! PHOTO © Hyde Flippo |
Unlike golf or tennis, it is difficult to find a German community that doesn’t have a public Schwimmbad or swimming pool. Often there is a Hallenbad, an indoor pool, alongside the outdoor pool. Larger cities may have dozens of swimming facilities in various areas. Some communities have recently had difficulty keeping up with the costs of running these aquatic arenas, raising admission fees and reducing hours of operation, but public pools are still widely available all over Germany throughout the year. Pools are sometimes also part of a public or private health spa (Bad).
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Website Copyright © 1997-2009
Michael Schumacher and Formula One Racing
Who is the world’s highest paid sports figure? Until recently, it was German Formula One (F1) race driver Michael Schumacher (b. 1969). Before he retired in 2006 “Schumi” (SHOO-me), as he is affectionately known, was earning the top money in the world — about $80 million in 2004! Forget soccer, baseball, or basketball! Formula One racing is where the money is, and Schumacher was the most successful F1 driver of all time, with more victories and more championships than any other F1 racer. Germans (and Europeans in general) are big Formula One fans, especially when Schumi was leading the F1 pack.
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SCHUMI ON THE WEB
- Michael Schumacher.de (official site - in German and English)
- Michael Schumacher - Wikipedia (English)
- Michael Schumacher - Wikipedia (auf Deutsch/in German)
- MSchumacher.com - A Schumi fan site (in English)
Related Links - German Sports
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AMERICAN FOOTBALL TEAMS IN GERMANY
- American Football Verband Deutschland e.V. - The German Football League (GFL) and the American football teams in Germany (in English); click on the team logos on the right for more info and links for each GFL team.
- Hamburg Blue Devils - American football in Hamburg
- Other American Football - Bundesliga teams:
The Braunschweig Lions, the Berlin Adler, the Munich Cowboys, the Stuttgart Scorpions, the Rüsselsheim Razorbacks, the Cologne Crocodiles, the Hanau Hawks, the Kiel Blue Baltic Hurricanes, and the Düsseldorf Panthers. See the GFL site above for more team links in Austria and Germany. - European Federation of American Football - European Teams (in English).
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TENNIS
- Boris Becker & Co. - Official site
- Roger Federer - The Swiss tennis pro’s homepage
- Stefanie Graf.com
- Steffi Graf - Wikipedia
- Martina Hingis - Wikipedia (English)
- Martina Hingis - Wikipedia (Deutsch)
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FUSSBALL and OTHER SPORTS
- Bundesliga - Germany's national soccer league (in German)
- Formula 1 - The official Formula 1 racing site (in English)
- Sport 1.de - German sports site (in German)
- Sport1.at - Austria (in German)
- Sport.de - Sport von RTL (in German)
- NBA - Germany - Basketball in Germany (in German). Also see NBA - Global
- FIFA is the international football (soccer) association. Get the latest info about world soccer.
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