By Mike Wise
Tuesday, July 4, 2006; E01
After Andrea Bargnani became the first European player taken No. 1 in the NBA draft last week, the Italian forward proclaimed, "I'm so proud to represent my country." On the same day, emerging LPGA star Lorena Ochoa said, "I really am proud to be a Mexican."
The connection between national pride and sport seems so universally acceptable today. Yet are we now at a seminal enough point in history where it's also okay to say, "I'm proud to be German"? Should I have a twinge of guilt rooting for Germany to win the World Cup?
My mother was from Wurzburg, the home town of NBA star Dirk Nowitzki. My brother is German. My aunt and uncle live in Munich. They and their nation have been spellbound by the German soccer players, who face Italy today in the World Cup semifinals.
So why can't I go out, conscience-free, and buy a Der Mannschaft jersey? The phrase means, literally, "The Team."
"I think it's because we've all seen so many old movies with the word 'Deutschland' emblazoned on signs with Hitler's grim fist in the air; it just invokes those associations," said Jon Entine, an author and adjunct fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. "That's very deep and very visceral."
Entine, who is Jewish, has an upcoming book, "Abraham's Children," which focuses on the nexus of genes and ethnic and religious identity. He's less concerned with the fervent German flag-waving at the World Cup than I am.
"To see modern Germany do well in soccer or something similar -- it doesn't carry any negative associations, frankly, for most Jews," he said. "We don't think of Hitlerism when we see Nowitzki play."
The passage of time, coupled with Germans feeling emboldened about their team and about hosting the World Cup, means German nationalism is not forbidden anymore. German youth are waving flags and singing the national anthem in the streets of Berlin and Frankfurt to celebrate the national team's victories. It's no longer politically incorrect to cheer for Deutschland.
Part of the reason is also the changing persona and style of the German team, which has shed its repressive shell under Coach Juergen Klinsmann, who lives in Southern California.
The Germans might be the best attacking team in the tournament, no longer winning with the mundane efficiency that characterized past national teams. They are inclusive, too, with players of Polish, Swiss and Ghanaian descent.
Klinsmann badly wants Germany to win, but recently was quoted as saying: "The other goal for all of us Germans -- it doesn't matter that I live abroad -- is to show a completely new German face to the world. It's a completely different country now after reunification 16 years ago and this is the biggest chance we have had for decades to show our different face."
"I would say it's not nationalism of the old kind," Klaus Scharioth, the German ambassador to the United States, said in a telephone interview yesterday. "I would say it's more of enthusiasm for your country and for the team. It's not putting others down and taking a side. It's a nonaggressive pride and enthusiasm. And I would agree with Klinsmann. It's an opportunity to show what Germany is today."
Sport has always been the venue for less-dangerous nationalism, a place to root for rather than crusade against. But in Germany, a reluctance in regard to open displays of national pride has been going on for 60 years.
So seeing young people celebrating their national identity, unencumbered by history the way their parents and grandparents never were, is almost strange. Crazy, no? There is no shame in rooting for a team representing your country.
And whatever your feelings about the German people today, that's a good thing. Being German, celebrating a modern Germany, should no longer be viewed as warped loyalty toward an evil tyrant. Even if the past is unavoidable.
The World Cup final will be held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, built by Hitler for the 1936 Olympic Games.
"It would be totally wrong now to stop remembering," Scharioth said. "We need to remember. But we shouldn't put the burden on young people now. It is a totally different time and place."
I asked the ambassador if I should stop worrying about purchasing a national team jersey, worrying about what it would say about my beliefs and allegiances to something other than a team from my ancestral homeland.
"No, no, not at all," he said. "Showing the flag is good. Other countries do the same. In fact, the Brazilian flag was actually the number one seller in Germany. It brings out the best among people to share this enthusiasm."