Stasi Football Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stasi Football - Essay Example Throughout the course of history mankind has seemingly been guided by a sense of competition. Overtime, however, competition has evolved from a sense of survival to a source of pride and achievement. Even though cultures from all across the world have differing values and even languages, having a competitive nature is a value of the human spirit that can connect us all. Through the development of organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Football Federation (FIFA), platforms were created to connect people internationally in innocuous sporting competitions. The growth of nations competing in sport amongst each other brought with it the ability for countries express their national pride. In Germany’s case, post World War II, sporting spectacles such as these were significantly important in the rekindling of a sense of national identity. The power of sport was epitomized in the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final in which the heavi ly favored Hungarian soccer team lost to West Germany’s national team. The symbolic victory, which became known as the â€Å"Miracle of Berne†, evoked a surge of euphoria all over West Germany. Not only did this victory lift up a nation that had been both economically and spiritually shattered by the war, but also it caused the sport to become a fixated symbol in West German culture.