Eine Dirge fur Deutschland

Ow. The pain is still fresh. Like a dagger in the heart followed by another wound with a much more blunt instrument like, say, a butter knife, the final two minutes of World Cup Semifinal 1 nearly killed me. The first Italian goal, strategically placed, entirely earned, killed the spirit of Germany. 1 - 0 would have been painful enough, but with the goal on their side, Italy seemed to gain a new energy while Germany lost their legs. The second goal was an insult added to the injury. A sad, sad loss after such a great run. On the upside, they will end their play in the World Cup as either the third or fourth in the world, which is a far cry from their ranking of 19th as of May. Hey - I'm clinging to all I can.