Dutch nationalism

[Hans Deventer]

The Dutch may not be renowned for their nationalism, which indeed they are not, most of the time, that is. There is one very clear exception to this rule, and that is when the national football team plays a European or World Tournament. When that happens, the country turns orange. (For those who don't know, our royal family is called the House of Orange-Nassau, hence the colour orange).

Below some pictures that testify to the lunacy :basic05

Personally, I hope to spend the three weeks of the tournament in the Pyrenees, the mountains between France and Spain. As far from a tv-screen as possible. Perhaps I'll watch if they make it to the finals, but they've lost 2 finals already and this team is certainly not as good as the ones in 1974 and 1978, or the ones that won the European Championship in 1988.

[Dana Grant]

Wow, Tennesseeans would feel quite at home in The Netherlands!!! Orange everywhere!

[Virginia Stimer]

Good pictures, Hans. Who is that good looking guy with the big blue eyes? He is a doll!:fav18

Virginia

[Hans Deventer]

Good pictures, Hans. Who is that good looking guy with the big blue eyes? He is a doll!:fav18

Virginia

They are not mine, Virginia! I'm sorry for the confusion. So I have no idea who these people are. I just wanted to share some of the lunacy here :basic03

[Hans Deventer]

Wow, Tennesseeans would feel quite at home in The Netherlands!!! Orange everywhere!

What is the link between Tennessee and orange, Dana?

[Paul Whitaker]

US Soccer Coach Meets the press
From the Los Angeles Times
U.S. Soccer Coach Meets the Press
By Grahame L. Jones
Times Staff Writer

11:12 AM PDT, June 2, 2006

HAMBURG, Germany — It's going to take the German soccer media a while to figure out U.S. Coach Bruce Arena.

Take his sarcasm seriously and he comes across as rude. Realize that he is merely having some lighthearted fun with reporters and the laughter can be shared. Just because it's the World Cup doesn't mean everything has to be serious.

Arena was at his loosen-them-up best this afternoon at the U.S. team's first press conference, a packed event at the Park Hyatt Hotel just off fashionable Monckebergstrasse in the heart of the city.

The U.S. had arrived only seven hours before, shortly after 6 a.m. on a charter flight from New Jersey. There was no jet lag in Arena's answers, however.

One German reporter seemed puzzled that the U.S. would train on the day of its arrival. "Mr. Arena, why are you having your team practicing this afternoon already after this long flight?" he asked. "Do you think it's not yet in shape?"

Arena pretended to be the clueless rube.

"We don't know what we're doing," he said. "We figured we'd come here and maybe practice a couple of times before the opening game. You think there's something wrong with that too?

"Why not? Just go out and break a sweat a little bit. Get the travel out of them. Try to get their bodies adjusted to the new time zone. I don't know. I thought it was an interesting concept, to practice, but perhaps I'm wrong."

Asked if he sees the U.S. team "as the possible target for any terrorist attacks," Arena dismissed the notion.

"I'm not in that business of planning terrorist attacks," he said. "I think we are in a very safe environment."

German reporters outnumbered Americans, and one of them wondered why the U.S. players had been allowed to bring their families with them, the hidden suggestion being that it indicated a lack of serious intent.

"Our families," Arena answered. "That's the reason. We think families are important. Our players are with their families every day of the year. It doesn't seem to me that they shouldn't be with them at the World Cup as well.

"We think families help our environment and allow our players to stay away from the pressures of the World Cup on a daily basis."

Arena allowed U.S. parents, wives and children to be with the players at the Korea/Japan '02 World Cup, when the team surprised many by reaching the quarterfinals.

"We were told we were stupid and crazy and ignorant in Korea as well," he said. "So we'll just accept being dumb Americans."

Another German journalist pressed the matter further. Do the wives or girlfriends spend the night in the same room or do they have separate rooms? he wondered.

Said Arena: "They can do both."

Unlike 1998, when the team was in virtual seclusion in the French countryside, Arena again opted for a big city base. It was Seoul in 2002. It is Hamburg in 2006.

"I think it suits our lifestyle, our mentality," he said. "I want our players to enjoy the World Cup. The way Americans enjoy living every day is to get out into the culture and do things and not be locked up out in the country and on their own.

"The time away from the team is important for players. The ability to soak in the World Cup [atmosphere] is important. I think it's invaluable in terms of having them in the right frame of mind.

"So I think being in a city like Hamburg, which is a setting that's very comfortable for Americans, is a great situation for us."

The fact that the seaport city offers players temptations aplenty is something Arena said he would not even try to counteract.

"I can't worry about that," he said. "Our players know what is out there for them in this World Cup and what the challenges are, and they have to be able to balance the entire situation. I have a lot confidence they can do that."

All but one of the U.S. training sessions are closed to the public and the media, as is Monday's final tuneup, a scrimmage against Angola. The intent over the week or so leading up to the Americans' June 12 opener against the Czech Republic is clear.

"It's mostly tactical," Arena said. "Our focus will be on the Czech Republic and getting our players acquainted with their team and having them thoroughly understand what we think the tactics will be.

"We've put in all the real difficult physical work at this point. We're going to back off of that and really try to get them sharp soccer-wise."

The players are more than ready for it all to begin.

"We're happy to finally get here," said midfielder and team captain Claudio Reyna, who will be taking part in his fourth World Cup. "All the players have been anxiously awaiting getting to Germany.

"Everyone's excited. It's the greatest experience and the biggest, most important achievement in any player's career."

Reyna is the only U.S. player nursing an injury. His right hamstring still is a concern, but he said "it feels pretty good" and that he hopes to be ready to play against Angola on Monday.

"I think we're healthy right across the board," Arena said, "which is a change from 2002. When we arrived in Korea, we had a number of question marks. So that's a real positive."

Reaching the quarterfinals in 2002 raised some eyebrows. Now the trick is to do so again. Or do better.

"Obviously, our stock has risen over the years, however, we're still an outsider looking in," Arena said of the way the U.S. is viewed. "To continue to earn respect at the international level requires that we have a successful World Cup. That's what we look forward to doing."

[Ian Gentles]

England is very much the same Hans, kids even got me flying an England flag on the car! :(
Can i join your vacation??? ;)

[Bruce Carriker]

What is the link between Tennessee and orange, Dana?

That same color orange is the school color for the University of Tennessee athletic teams.

[John Kennedy]

Wow, Tennesseeans would feel quite at home in The Netherlands!!! Orange everywhere!

So would Univ. of Texas alumni. All that orange and white - "Hook'em Horns!"

[Doug Kitchen]

(For those who don't know, our royal family is called the House of Orange-Nassau, hence the colour orange).


Hans,

New York State has an Orange County and Nassau County. Both names come from the original Dutch settlers.

Fort Orange was settled soon after the Mayflower landed in Massachusetts. Fort Orange became Albany, NY. It's interesting that after the British took over, they tried to Anglicize the entire state but were not really very successful. Several of our presidents were Dutch (both Roosevelts and Van Buren, I think a couple more as well). The Dutch settlers were pretty adept at obeying the government and still preserving their lifestyle and traditions.

Around here, people could not care less about the British but we still celebrate the Dutch heritage (Tulip festival in May, our high school are the "flying dutchmen").

Doug