Don't mention the war

NIGEL ADLAM

June 14th, 2010
Oh dear...

Oh dear...

NIGEL ADLAM watches the Socceroos being robbed by Germany

AT the death, there were only a handful of Aussies left.

Many had walked out of Kitty O'Shea's at half-time with Australia trailing Germany 2-0 in their World Cup match.

More went home when the referee decided to play for the Germans and send off heavily-tattooed nice guy Tim Cahill for trying too hard.

And a few sneaked off when the ref refused to award the Socceroos a penalty for a blatant handball.

One or two had enjoyed a long night - after all, it was past four in the morning and the pubs had been open by then for 18 hours - and they left with the polite but persistent encouragement of the bouncers.

So, the Darwin city centre pub - with its nine TV screens - was left very much to about 70 young German backpackers.

They draped themselves in the national flag, chanted "Deutschland, Deutschland" and guzzled beer as if the brewery was about to go out of business.

Sadly, none of them wore lederhosen - you know, those funny little leather breeches that all Germans are supposed to wear. That would have been funny.

But one bloke looked spiffing in his black-and-white German strip with the name PENIS SAUIT on the back. Nobody had heard of this player.

After the fourth goal, the tourists began politely applauding any good move by the Socceroos.

Don't you hate it when the victorious get all generous?

A lone Aussie raised his schooner and tried to goad the Germans. The Germans ignored him and sang So senh'n Sieger aus (this is what a winner looks like).

Everybody shook hands at the end of the game, as if they had played.

One Aussie said to a burly German.

"Good game. It was close."

No-one mentioned the war.

None of this good-natured banter would have been allowed in a British pub, of course. There would have been blood, warm beer and pork pies all over the walls.

"Yes, but we're not English," said 39-year-old Darwin-based Defence Force staffer Clay Fredericks. "We're much better natured."

Training adviser Meghan Chardon, 28, who plays football in the Darwin women's league, likes to see the bright side of life and said: "The Socceroos played well at times."

Charlie Kariotis, 31, who likes to understate matters, summed up the game by saying: "We've played better."

And so to bed.


http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/06/14/155621_ntnews.html