Dutch football fans to wear WW2 style German helmets in orange at the World Cup

[Hitro]

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A Dutch firm offering orange helmets shaped like those worn by German soldiers during the Nazi era and aimed at Dutch soccer fans visiting Germany for the World Cup has upset the Netherlands' football authority.

Free Time Products, the firm behind the helmet (www.helmpje.nl), defends it as a bit of harmless fun.

"During the World Cup the playing field is different. We ought to be able to poke a bit of fun at our arch-rivals the Germans," Weno Geerts of Free Time Products told Dutch daily De Telegraaf.

The Web site advises fans to wear the helmets with their "infantry" friends, or in "battalions" at the stadiums.

But football's governing body in the Netherlands, the KNVB, said the helmets were in bad taste.

"They claim not to want to emphasize the war, but are achieving the very opposite," said KNVB spokesman Frank Huizinga, "This is clearly not in the spirit of a football tournament."

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-01-10T152003Z_01_EIC055188_RTRUKOC_0_US-DUTCH-NAZI.xml&archived=False

Here's a link to the site offering the things:
http://www.helmpje.nl/N_frame.html?http://www.helmpje.nl/

If you speak German, notice how they don't know grammar.

And generally, would you be offended by that? I for one surely am not.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Well, it's not exactly good clean fun. Can't say I'd be delighted if some self-righteous Europeans/Yankees/etc. showed up to pull against a Southern sports team dressed as slave owners.

It's important to remember the past. This isn't the way to go about it.

 

[Knight-Dragon]

Moderator Action: Moved to Sports.

 

[Hitro]

This is a topic of high political, historical and cultural relevance, not just a sports issue. :uhoh

 

[ChrTh]

This is a topic of high political, historical and cultural relevance, not just a sports issue. :uhoh:

Sports is more important than political, historical, and cultural affairs ... so it got moved UP to the Sports forum

 

[Darkness]

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-01-10T152003Z_01_EIC055188_RTRUKOC_0_US-DUTCH-NAZI.xml&archived=False

Here's a link to the site offering the things:
http://www.helmpje.nl/N_frame.html?http://www.helmpje.nl/

If you speak German, notice how they don't know grammar.

And generally, would you be offended by that? I for one surely am not.

I was wondering it anyone would bring this to CFC...
This was actually a pretty big item on the Dutch 8 o'clock news last night.
A lot of fuss over nothing IMHO. This is clearly meant as a joke.

On the other hand: I can understand if older people (who went through WW2 (on both sides)) might be offended by this.

Conclusion: a joke, but one with mighty bad taste.

 

[MCdread]

This is a topic of high political, historical and cultural relevance, not just a sports issue. :uhoh

Yeah, I move that this be moved to where it was before it was moved. ChrTh makes a good point though.

 

[willemvanoranje]

It's a lot of fuzz about nothing.. if they'd make something with a swastika or the SS mark it would be bad, but this is just a simple Wehrmacht helmet... no big thing.

I'm ashamed of my people for a different reason.. they should've written "jetzt geht's loss" of course.. those guys didn't pay attention in school, that's for sure.

 

[Stapel]

I will most certainly get such a helmet, before travelling to Deutschland this summer .

They have two others with different texts:
Hup Holland Hup
Aanvulluuuh

 

[Hitro]

Your first match is in Leipzig, whose stadium's security was recently doubted. I bet it's a plot to get rid of those nasty Dutch fans.

 

[Stapel]

Your first match is in Leipzig, whose stadium's security was recently doubted. I bet it's a plot to get rid of those nasty Dutch fans.

The safety of the stadiums....
The news items tell me that the World Cup stadium's safety might not be 100%. However, not one single news item informs me about the safety of a stadiums during, for instance, Hertha-Dortmund, Bayern-HSV or Leipzig-Werder (don't piss on Leipzig not being in 1. BL, I guess they are not).

Isn't a tat bit weird that stadium are safe during BL matches, but not during WC matches?

Or is is just a Weltmeisterschafttemperaturerhoeherungproblemverwanderungspazierenwordenmachenkoennen?

 

[MCdread]

If they had WWI/prussian style helmets with that pike on top instead, I'd buy one.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

This helmet can only be a bad omen for the Oranjes considering they failed in WW2 already at the qualification phase.

(However, I wouldn´t mind Germany failing early)

 

[willemvanoranje]

If that is getting knocked-out at the qualification, then what the hell do you call Austria's performance?

If they had WWI/prussian style helmets with that pike on top instead, I'd buy one.

couldn't agree more

 

[Mr. Blonde]

The German trainer was from here, we just didn´t prefer an active role. In this tradition we will participate in WC 2006: with a referee and some stadion personel

 

[willemvanoranje]

In the war??

 

[Hitro]

The safety of the stadiums....
The news items tell me that the World Cup stadium's safety might not be 100%. However, not one single news item informs me about the safety of a stadiums during, for instance, Hertha-Dortmund, Bayern-HSV or Leipzig-Werder (don't piss on Leipzig not being in 1. BL, I guess they are not).

Isn't a tat bit weird that stadium are safe during BL matches, but not during WC matches?

Yes it is. The thing is highly disputed and just one of the many items of the stil growing hype around the tournament. I have already bet with friends if the media will have gotten me to hate the tournament until June...

And as for Leipzig, not only not 1. BL, also not second. Neither third. But they got a new stadium for the fourth or fifth league matches. Great policy, eh?

 

[Henry Ford]

Its all ok but if somebody questions 6 millions jews dying, then....then the entire universe will know about it.

 

[Alone]

Anyway (WWII or WWI German halmets), if they're going to wear them on first game in Leipzing against Serbia, I guess they'll finished as the soldiers who used them in the past in war with the same nation

Personaly I don't have anything against. Let them wear what they want unless Germans from that area have special feelings for that fashion detail

O yea, and if German soldiers use to wear it in that color (pink..?), they've could be much more succesfull, aparently many of there enemies in those past wars would die of laughing (something like in MontyPaytons)

 

[Alone]

The safety of the stadiums....
The news items tell me that the World Cup stadium's safety might not be 100%. However, not one single news item informs me about the safety of a stadiums during, for instance, Hertha-Dortmund, Bayern-HSV or Leipzig-Werder (don't piss on Leipzig not being in 1. BL, I guess they are not).

Isn't a tat bit weird that stadium are safe during BL matches, but not during WC matches?

Noone is safe when play against Serbia