Germany vs. Greece: The Ultimate Metaphor
The Universe enjoys nothing more than a great metaphor and delicious irony. Amazingly, the Euro 2012 soccer (ahem, football) tournament has delivered us a dose of both. On Friday, Germany will face off against Greece in a match that will be played in Gdansk, Poland.
For the past several months, the Eurozone crisis has pitted the fiscally responsible (and perhaps, harsh) German Chancellor Angela Merkel against the profligate (and perhaps, lazy) nation of Greece. Tensions are high. Germans think that Greece has a "lying, cheating government that routinely breaks its promises and expects others to pick up the pieces." Greeks think the Germans are acting like a bunch of Nazis. Their mutual frustrations will be made manifest in a football match that has become the global economy's greatest metaphor.
And the irony? The match will be played in Poland, a country that does not use the euro and whose economy never went into recession during the crisis. While the Germans and Greeks duke it out on the pitch, the Poles will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Thank you, Universe. We'll be watching on Friday.
(AP Photo)
