On July 16th, I really began to appreciate the game of soccer in the course of my Goethe Institute trip to Germany, particularly as we visited the Deutscher-Fussball-Bund/German Soccer Association in Frankfurt. Thomas Schnelker, the Association's representative, had prepared a speech for us. However, when we began asking our questions, he skipped his speech and took our questions of which there were many. One questions was on why soccer is so popular in Germany. Schnelker explained that every German is introduced to soccer with state funding beginning at four years of age. Every one is encouraged to play, without regard to gender, height, weight or athletic ability. It is all inclusive. While truly gifted athletes are especially nurtured, the inclusion of the bulk of the population continues. So there are teams of people in their 30, 50s and even 70s. Great, huh?
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