World Cup 2006 – those were happy fan miles, black, red and gold flags, a country in a frenzy of celebration. A hit by Sportfreunde Stiller became the unofficial World Cup anthem. Party patriotism has its dark sides.
When the Sportfreunde Stiller released their song “’54, ’74, ’90, 2006” in 2006, the band had no idea what was coming. “This song was so ubiquitous in all areas of society,” recalls singer Peter Brugger in the podcast “ARD Icons: Sportfreunde Stiller” . “We didn’t know that before: that everyone knew it, from toddlers to grandmas.”
“The world as a guest of friends”
The World Cup in our own country caused great euphoria. Under the motto “The world is a guest of friends,” the whole of Germany celebrated with its guests – and presented itself as a relaxed, open, cultural nation. The Sportfreunde Stiller song became the anthem of these football weeks. The band even performed with the national team on stage at the Brandenburg Gate at the closing ceremony – in front of them 800,000 people in black and white, countless German flags waving above their heads.
Germany was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals and did not become world champion in its own country. Nevertheless, the mood remained exuberant. For Brugger, this is particularly symbolic: “We celebrated third place. I think that’s very good for us Germans. I thought it was so great about this summer that it continued after the defeat in the semi-finals.” The story of the “Summer Fairy Tale” was born – and with it a new, relaxed approach to national symbols.
The band Sportfreunde Stiller offered the unofficial anthem to the World Cup summer fairy tale in Germany with a song in 2006.
If the flags stay
After the World Cup, a term for it became established in the media: “party patriotism,” which was also taken up by social science. This refers to a supposedly non-political flag and anthem celebration around major sporting events.
The band Sportfreunde Stiller observed at their own concerts that this euphoria did not subside even six months after the World Cup. And was irritated, as drummer Flo Weber says in the “ARD Ikonen” podcast: “Suddenly there were a bunch of people who were in the audience with the German flag.”
But it didn’t feel right without a major sporting event. The band reacted, asked the fans to put the flags away again – and had to rethink how to deal with them.
With Party patriotism nationalism emerges
Sports journalist Ronny Blaschke also observes such developments. He has been writing about racism and right-wing extremism in football for years: “Right-wing extremists can not only draw on this summer party idea, but also on the vocabulary of football in general,” says Blaschke. Especially during a World Cup, a lot of things are focused on nationhood and demarcation: “On the country, on ‘we are stronger’. We sing our anthem, we raise our flag, we use terms such as honor, cohesion, loyalty to the nation.”
Studies also show that nationalism increases in the wake of major sporting events. Blaschke, for example, refers to the long-term study “German Conditions” from Sociologist and educational scientist Wilhelm Heitmeyer from 2007. It showed that the 2006 World Cup was also a breeding ground for nationalism, exclusion and group-related misanthropy.
“All political systems use football”
This became clear around the 2024 European Football Championship in Germany, when players on the national team were subjected to racist hostility and debates about origin and skin color – and ultimately membership in the national team.
Actors like the AfD intervene in these debates to reinforce their own narratives on immigration. Maximillian Krah, then the AfD’s leading candidate for the European elections, spoke during an event from the national team as the “Foreign Legion”. Björn Höcke wrote in a guest article in the Swiss weekly newspaper Weltwoche 2024 that he could no longer identify with the national team.
For Blaschke, this is no coincidence, but rather an expression of a fundamental political mechanism: “All political systems, whether autocracies, dictatorships, democracies, use football primarily because of its reach,” he says.
Looking at the 2026 World Cup: More strategy, more staging
For the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico, Blaschke expects a new dimension of political use of the tournament. It coincides with several anniversaries: In the USA, not only the 250th anniversary of independence is celebrated, but also the 80th birthday of Donald Trump. The US President is known for his staging of major media events. Blaschke also believes that Trump will “use” football: as an emotionally charged backdrop for his messages.
The podcast “ARD Icons Sportfreunde Stiller” has been available on ARD Sounds since May 28th.
