I didn’t know what to expect from Germany. I had my reservations, my preconceived notions.
But after six days there, my thoughts on the country haven’t just changed, my entire outlook has. I am reborn. I am in love with Germany.
Let us begin with some background. I’m Jewish. My family – specifically my mom’s side, headlined by her parents, hold strong traditional old-school jewish values. My grandfather would refrain from buying German-made cars. Not liking Germany was almost ingrained in me from my grandparents because of the persecution the country laid upon us 80 years ago.
Before I left, my friends told me to “hide your Jewish star.” When Bradley Shimel, who is also Jewish, and I entered the nation, we both agreed we couldn’t get the holocaust out of our mind. The city of Munich is where it all began.
It didn’t take long for it all to change. Germany is awesome.
I had only been to one other European country before. I visited Poland in 2019 to see the concentration camps. Poland was awful. No good food. No cool landscape. No culture. No kind, welcoming people. It was an unhappy place. A place where, as a Jew, I didn’t feel safe.
Germany couldn’t have been further from that. Welcoming. Kind. Exciting. Cool architecture. Good food. Great beer. Incredible culture.
The people there loved me – an American Jew.
Germany has strayed so far from its history that its present and future seem even safer and better towards jews than America. Hateful messages towards Jews were displayed in Jacksonville at my school’s football game. In Germany, that would be criminal. They don’t forget about their past, they teach it, they scrutinize it. They ensure their people understand that their country committed heinous crimes and made egregious mistakes to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.
This ideology was specifically apparent when our group visited Dachau, the first concentration camp ever, and the fifth I visited. This was perhaps the most moving experience yet. Walking around on my own allowed for inner soul searching and reflection about my people’s past.
I didn’t make this trip for religion, but the history of the Jewish people remained atop my mind throughout. And Germany checked all the boxes for a country safe for Jews and safe for everyone.
Now let’s turn to the main event of the trip: Football.
And my goodness, once again, Germany has won the day. They created the greatest sporting event atmosphere I have ever been a part of. They created the biggest build up for a game I have ever seen. They created history. They created something larger than anyone could have ever imagined. They created a spectacle unlike any other. They created something I will never forget.
To see a foreign country transform to an NFL wonderland filled with fans of all 32 teams everywhere in the city of Munich was an absolutely stunning and glorious experience. Every person I talked to knew what they were talking about. They knew all the teams, players, coaches, matchups, stats, standings and more. It was absolutely astounding and incredible. This is a sport that is played thousands of miles away from them.
It wasn’t just German fans donning NFL jerseys, but fans from all across Europe who have waited their entire lives to see the sport they love live. Fans would see my Dolphins jersey and ask how I became a Dolphins fan.
“I’m from Miami,” I would say proudly.
Wow. They were amazed. I’m from where the team is. This team that they watch play from across the globe. I’m from there.
I didn’t know what to expect from Germany. How much do they truly love football? How advanced and cool of a country is Germany? How good is the beer? The food?
Everything I could have expected from Germany was completely blown out of the water.
Germany was beautiful. It was clean. It was advanced. It was friendly. It was fun.
Germany, I love you. We’ll see you next year in Frankfurt.
CJC in Munich 