Whatever Maradona Brings Is Just Fine

I can't get enough of Diego Maradona. Give me Diego in distress while Argentina languishes. Give me Diego in rapture, jumping and hugging and writhing after a goal is scored. Give me Diego, looking like he belongs in the terrace seats with the tattooed crazies, wearing an Argentina jersey and ragged jeans while shaking hands with the suits and ties around him in the VIP seats. I'm hoping Argentina at least makes the final, because I'm not ready to part ways with Maradona yet, not even close.

To some, the constant shots of his reactions in the stands of this World Cup might be trite by now. I eat it up. Imagine Cal Ripken flying halfway around the world to watch the Orioles play, showing up wearing an Orioles jersey and living and dying with each turn of the game. Heck, imagine any pro athlete doing anything close. Diego's charm has always come in that his failings and brilliant successes were so public. He came from nothing, and at various times returned to nothing (he reportedly owes millions in taxes to various countries), and has always been of the people. Are some of his antics contrived? Is he a showman who needs constant attention? Perhaps, but he pulls it off.

And when he's in a catatonic state prior to the start of extra time between Mexico-Argentina Saturday night, looking like he's sitting in a hospital waiting room while a loved one endures a life-saving operation, I'm with him. When he's crushing his companion at a match in a bear hug, I can't help but laugh. With Diego, it's all always out there for all to see.

-- Jason La Canfora

Something for Everyone

In the heart of Berlin, on a mile-long stretch that dissects the Tiergarten and connects Brandenburg Gate to the Siegessaeule statue, the German capital has been transformed into a soccer festival.

This is where everyone who does not have tickets to matches comes to watch on nine giant video screens raised above the closed-off street. It is part carnival, beer garden, art festival and tourist trap. There is a replica ski lodge, a massage tent, a Ferris wheel, beach volleyball courts and, of course, half-meter bratwurst stands.

The highlight, however, is the World of Soccer and Sand, where giant sand sculptures have been built by master craftsmen. Two of the most notable creations are the German Mountain, Mount Rushmore-esque, with the faces of Germany's four most recent World Cup coaches: Juergen Klinsmann, Rudi Voeller, Berti Vogts and Franz Beckenbauer; and Kampf der Titanen, depicting a sumo battle between Germany's rival goalkeepers, Jens Lehnmann and Oliver Kahn.

-- Steven Goff

Reminders of the Nazis

Nuremberg's infamous past is impossible to escape, even here at the World Cup. Franken Stadium -- the site of five games, including yesterday's second-round match between Portugal and the Netherlands -- sits in an area that hosted the huge Nazi party rallies in the 1930s. The stadium itself was once used as a marching ground for the Hitler Youth.

The Fan Fest, where thousands of people gather to watch games together on a big screen, is being held in the shadow of the unfinished Congress Hall, the largest remaining monumental Nazi building in the country. The Congress Hall is now home to the Documentation Center; dozens of people in Portuguese and Dutch jerseys silently made their way around the museum before yesterday's game.

Fans who take the S2 train to the game walk by the Zeppelin Tribune, where Adolf Hitler addressed thousands of his supporters, on their way to the stadium. Early yesterday afternoon, fans stood atop the terraces, some waving flags, others posing for pictures with Franken Stadium in the background. (Earlier in the tournament, some English supporters were cautioned by police after giving the Nazi salute from the raised area overlooking the parade grounds.)

-- Camille Powell