- 7 Jun 08, 06:10 PM
Vienna
Vienna is starting to warm up in more ways than one. After three days of drizzle and grey clouds, the blue sky is beginning to break through over the Austrian capital.
And that welcome change in the weather has coincided with a sudden change in atmosphere on the city's streets.
Walking through Vienna on Friday night, it was hard to believe that in less than 36 hours that this place would host Austria's first game of Euro 2008. Yet on Saturday morning the transformation had begun.
Even then there was a surprise. It was the famous red-and-white checked shirts of the Croats that dominated, not the all red ones of the Austrians.
Perhaps the co-hosts are just keeping their powder dry, afraid of peaking too early. Still, there were clear signs that the Viennese are getting in the spirit, ready to waltz or perhaps whirl each and every visitor off his or her feet.
Giant football boots and even bigger footballs could be found in the museum quarter while several of the city's wonderful buildings have been temporarily obscured by huge advertising hoardings.
One of them, the 200ft-high ferris wheel made famous by the 1949 film 'The Third Man', is holding up an enormous image of Peter Cech, while a 40ft statue of Anubis plugging a Tutankhamun exhibition is now sporting an Austrian football shirt.
But there are some parts of Vienna that remain unaffected and untouched by football. Karntner Strasse, for example.
Described by some guidebooks as the city's most famous shopping street, it has more than its fair share of living statues - you know, those people who dress up in all sorts of costumes and stand still four hours on end - but I did not spot one that had sought to cash in by adopting a footballing theme.
Darth Vader, sure, but not footy.
The one entertainer I did encounter who thought that sport might be a way to persuade tourists to part with their money had plumped for tennis not the beautiful game, though quite how whacking a tennis ball attached to a piece of elastic over and over again would do that is beyond me.
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Expect a better turnout of avid Austrian fans at a ski race - that's where Austrians are world-class, and the locals can get more enthusiastic...!!
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Great blog.
Can you add another Euro 2008 blog to your 'related sites and links' list?
http://www.footballingworld.com/euro-2008/
Would be much appreciated and a great help to the blog!
Thanks
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Hmmm ... I think you're either talking about a different Vienna or maybe it's just that you're not from around here. The number of police on the street and the relative traffic chaos might have given the game away long before friday - as did all the party preparations. I guess because it's normally such a quiet city the extra activity goes unnoticed to the visitor. The number of Croatia supporters surprises no-one here - the city has a large Croatian population and Croatians are much more fanatical about football than you're average Austrian (ditto, the local Turkish population).
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... and my English is terrible ... :-(
That should have read "your average Austrian"
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Actually, that's excellent English. I wish my German was that good.
Why don't Austrians have much interest in football?
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Vienna is a strange city at the best of times, it will be interesting to see how the normally ultra conservative Viennese public react to the Euros in the coming weeks ~ especially if the Austrian team should actually score a few goals and win a game or 2, which frankly, doesn't look too likely!
Will there be an uncharacteristic wave of National support?
Many people don't like the National players or the Coach, and the football they have seen in the last 2 years ( all meaningless friendlies at home stadia ) has done little to encourage.
A 3-2 victory over an understrength Ivory Coast team, and losing 4-3 to Holland have been the only real highlights for the fans, and the Coach seems rather unwilling to introduce any young and exciting players into an already ageing and ailing squad.
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"Why don't Austrians have much interest in football"?
To put it simply, they're not very good at it and don't expect to win anything. In fact they find the efforts of their most recent crop of players rather embarrassing (remember the petition to get themselves thrown out of the Euros?).
I wouldn't say national support was uncharacteristic - national pride is prevalent in most aspects of life in Austria - it's just that miost of them take a pragmatic outlook with respect to football.
joshbowlslegspin: I am English (hence the apology for poor use of the language). I've just been living here a long time.
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Switchblade ~
Although I've never been to a skiing / winter sports event, with regard to the national football team I've seen little evidence of any proper support for the team.
I think that the post~war generations in Austria have been encouraged away from nationalistic feelings or tendencies, many people that I know are far more proud of the region that they come from ie: Tirol, Karnten etc.. rather than the country as a whole. Certainly, only a very small number of my friends and acquaintances could or would choose to sing the national anthem.
There is a still an element of shame, that is reflected by a lack of national feeling or identity. Although this is becoming less in the younger generations.
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RedAstaire:
can't say I've noticed any element of shame at all and I've been here for a good few years. Most, if not all, of the austrians I know have quite a strong sense of national pride.
Not sure what your point was with respect to support for the national team. You appear to be trying to argue against something which you think I wrote. I don't think I've written anywhere that there was any "proper support" for the national football team.
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Switchblade;
With the greatest respect, it seems we have very different opinions of life in Vienna, and Austrian people. I'm quite surprised that you haven't seen these aspects of Austrian ( especially Viennese ) life.
I don't think i'm the first foreigner in vienna to have noticed these things, I've met many Brits, Aussies, kiwis, Americans and Austrians.. who would echo my thoughts on this subject.
By the way, congratulations to the Austria team, who actually performed very well today and were unlucky not to get a result against Croatia.
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About Austrian pride:
People tend to forget that Austria in its current form only really came to exist in 1918 - and that was a 'difficult birth.' Clemenceau the French Prime Minister stated at the Treaty of St. Germain: “L'Autriche, c'est ce qui reste” (the rest is Austria); now this is not to undermine the validity of Austria now. However, to state that patriotism in Austria post-war was discouraged is simplistic and erroneous.
Austria has, historically, always been a more regional country - people have stronger links to their region: Tirol, Kaernten, Steiermark, Vienna, etc. Therefore people have stronger recognition of their regional identity rather than their national identity. However, this is also breaking down now; the younger generation see themselves less as Viennese or Burgenlaender but more as Austrians.
It is not the case that in the post-war world Austrian patriotism was discouraged, indeed the Austrian Chancellor Figl (or Raab - I cannot remember) pleaded to the Austrian nation in the winter following the end of WWII "Glaubt an dieses Oesterreich" (believe in this Austria). The idea of national patriotism was fostered to prevent the absorption of Austria into Germany (again) or into the Soviet sphere. Indeed patriotism (differing from nationalism) was encouraged over regional patriotism.
I have now gone on about the social and historical aspects of Austrian patriotism for too long.
Football is big in Austria, look at the support for Austria Wien, Rapid, Sturm Graz, Red Bull Salzburg - however, it is a general agreement that the Austrian national team is simply not strong on the world (or even European) arena. All Austrians I know (well, maybe bar a few) have a very strong sense of national pride and identity. And this is especially prevalent through the various sports that Austria is involved in – especially winter sports, where we quite honestly are brilliant.
The nation does rally together under the banner of winter sports and the outpouring of national pride during the Olympics, or the entire ski season, is immense. However, inevitably you still get the comments, “she/he is from Tirol (or other various bundeslaender)”
Austrians accept that on the football world stage they are not powerful enough, lacking the quality that once was prevalent; through players such as Andi Herzog, Prohaska, Krankl and Toni Polster.
Also, one thing to remember Austria’s population is only 8million – so I am happy and delighted that such a small nation dominates winter sports (skiing, ski jumping), swimming (Markus Rogan), formerly tennis (Thomas Muster), catamaran sailing (Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher).
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I saw Jake, or I think it was Jake, in the fanzone in Vienna in front of a huge Red tube looking thing with Canon on the side. What is this please? It is obviously something that Canon are using as sponsors, is it for the fans?
Clive (Roscoe888)
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The red tube you saw, roscoe888, is for the fans. I haven't been in it myself, but you walk through it. I'm guessing it shows you lots of football images taken by a Canon camera. I'll check it out and tell you for certain.
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- Nickvienna
Do you work for the BBC by any chance?
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RedAstaire?:
No, but I would like to! :-)
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the atmoshpere in switzerland seems to have been so different to in austria- such a shame they've gone out!
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Has any one been on the u-bahn (subway) in Vienna today??
Just got a call from my mother from the U-Bahn (the tube) - the Austrian patriotic feeling is out there. There are hundreds and thousands of people in Red-White-Red.
Who said that there is no Austrian patriotic feeling? Look out your window, get onto the Tube or the bus! The Austrians are out there, and the red-white-red is flying high!
We may loose 5-0, but we will go down with our flags waving, our heads held high in the knowledge; we came, we were conquered, but we have an amazing time!
Shame that I am stuck in London!
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IMMER WIEDER OESTERREICH!
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