The German Way: Life in Austria, Germany, Switzerland

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.]

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
In recent years, some American games have become more popular in Germany. Basketball has a reasonably large number of fans, and volleyball is also quite popular. But the king of German amateur and professional sports is definitely soccer, “König Fußball” (“king football”). Thousands of amateur Fußballvereine (soccer clubs) provide the opportunity for Germans to play soccer. As a spectator sport, soccer draws an average of over 25,000 fans to each professional game. The Germans have won the World Cup three times, the last being in 1990... [Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup, but came in third that year, after France and the winner Italy.]

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...

A popular public bathing pond in Burghausen, Bavaria—castle 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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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.

Related Links - German Sports

    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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Original Web content ©1997-2009 Hyde Flippo | Graphic design by Erik Flippo www.erikflippo.com
Hyde Flippo is solely responsible for the content of this site and, other than permission granted to publish copyrighted material, McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Publishing has no direct involvement, financial or otherwise, with this site. When in Germany, Do As the Germans ©2002 McGraw-Hill; The German Way ©1997 McGraw-Hill/Passport Books. All rights reserved | Site Map | Advertise with us!