The Omnipresent Franz Beckenbauer

I thought I had it pretty good. I’m in Germany for the entire World Cup soaking up the world’s greatest sporting event. As fun as it is here, I’m still jealous of the luckiest man in the world this month. By my unofficial count, Franz Beckenbauer has been in the stadium for seven of the first eight games of the competition. I didn’t see any sign of him during the Angola-Portugal match last night, but that might have just been because my eyes were bugging out as I was screaming my support for my beloved Angola.

Given the distances between the various venues here in Germany, it almost seems impossible for Beckenbauer to have attended so many games. I was starting to think that he had been cloned and that we were seeing doubles of him all over the country, but alas I learned that he is being ushered around in a private helicopter.

Beckenbauer says that he plans on attending 48 of the 64 matches. Lucky bastard, but I guess he has earned it after traveling to every World Cup country before the tournament.

Keep your eye out for Beckenbauer sightings in the stands today. Looking at the map, I think he can make all three games without too much difficulty.

For all the rest of us, at least we can watch on television. Here in Germany, though, every other commercial features Beckenbauer. It is as if they are reminding us that now matter how blessed we are in life there is always room for jealousy.