The following anecdotes are by way of thanks, really, to Ursus and the other person (sorry, I can't remember who, and now old-style OTF's down I can't find out either) who helped me out with some German-football related stuff a couple of months ago. I've just got back from Berlin, hence not having posted here for the last week.
My best mate and I had a great time, all the more so because he, the poor sod, hadn't watched any football outside the UK before. On Friday we spent a large chunk of my birthday getting the train out to the west and finding Tennis Borussia Berlin's ground, much to the amazement of the receptionists in our hostel ('you know, if you want to watch lower league stuff, you're better off with Union.' 'Yes, we know, but they're away this weekend...' 'You know THAT? How obsessed are you two?!').
Tennis Borussia Berlin fulfill many criteria for being A Team My Best Friend And I Really Like. First, they have an excellent badge:
Secondly, they play in purple. Their stadium is tiny and has comically oversized floodlights. During the pre-match brotwurst, watching the warmup, we saw a German miss a penalty. A German! We tried to explain the significance of this moment to Craig, a Chinese-Canadian who we'd met in our hostel the previous night, who'd never heard of Tennis Borussia Berlin a couple of hours before. In fact he'd never been to a football match before (but Toronto FC may have a new fan when he gets home, if his reaction was to be trusted). It was cold and misty, and Tennis were absolutely abysmal. Prior to the game we were discussing how the Oberliga Nord (German third tier if I've got the league structure right) was on a par with the level Bristol Rovers play at here. By half-time it was evident that Bristol Rovers would tear either of these sides - the visitors were Ludwigsfelder FC - to pieces. LFC looked shit, and Tennis contrived to lose 5-0 to them at home. Still, it was a great experience, partly for the chanting of the fans (among the more surprising tunes were 'Buffalo Soldier' and 'God Save The Queen') and partly for the hilarity of noticing the Ludwigsfelder fans had hung their banner upside down.
The following day (Saturday) we were at Hertha Berlin vs. Werder Bremen in the Olympiastadion. Now, first just let me say that of all the places I've watched football, this was the most impressive in terms of the fan experience. No lavish entertainments put on for fans, but plenty of places to drink, eat (cheaply!), congregate, and all in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere - home and away fans wandering about together and no long queues for currywurst or drinks, if there even were any queues. When we got inside, we found that the away fan section had been overfilled and a large chunk of Werder fans had bought up the tickets in our block (which was across the 'open' end of the stadium from the away section). Having bought Hertha scarfs before the game we were a little nervous, though the presence of an enormous Hertha fan right next to me made it more bearable. There proved no need to worry, everyone got on brilliantly, and the match wasn't bad - Werder scored after about 30 seconds, Hertha equalised on 10 minutes and Werder won it midway through the second half.
On Sunday we ticked off the two remaining 'notable' stadia in the city - Dynamo Berlin in the north-east of the centre (shit - fenced all round so shots inside weren't possible, so we weren't impressed) and then the train out to FC Union Berlin in the east. When we arrived there we wandered round to the entrance and there was a game going on. Wandered into the stand without paying, watched the last five minutes of a Bundesliga 2. Women's game (visitors won 4-0, and we were left suspecting we may be a bit of a curse to home teams in Germany), had a bit of a chat with the fans, took a few pictures, and buggered off again thinking that was it for football on our trip.
Today, with the afternoon to kill before our evening flight home, we stumbled across a football bar near the Zoo and grabbed some food. The proprietor asked us where we were from, and who we supported. When I told him my team he smiled. 'Ah, Manchester United... I played against them once.' He turned out to be this man, a former Tennis (yes!), Hertha (yes!) and Bayern (oh dear) sweeper who played once for Germany in the runup to the 1978 World Cup (he was in the preliminary squad of 30 but didn't make the finals). He was a very, very nice man, and very interesting, although by the time we'd finished our food and got our cameras out he'd buggered off to do something more important.
So, thanks for the advice, those who gave it, and I'll have some photos soon...
My best mate and I had a great time, all the more so because he, the poor sod, hadn't watched any football outside the UK before. On Friday we spent a large chunk of my birthday getting the train out to the west and finding Tennis Borussia Berlin's ground, much to the amazement of the receptionists in our hostel ('you know, if you want to watch lower league stuff, you're better off with Union.' 'Yes, we know, but they're away this weekend...' 'You know THAT? How obsessed are you two?!').
Tennis Borussia Berlin fulfill many criteria for being A Team My Best Friend And I Really Like. First, they have an excellent badge:
Secondly, they play in purple. Their stadium is tiny and has comically oversized floodlights. During the pre-match brotwurst, watching the warmup, we saw a German miss a penalty. A German! We tried to explain the significance of this moment to Craig, a Chinese-Canadian who we'd met in our hostel the previous night, who'd never heard of Tennis Borussia Berlin a couple of hours before. In fact he'd never been to a football match before (but Toronto FC may have a new fan when he gets home, if his reaction was to be trusted). It was cold and misty, and Tennis were absolutely abysmal. Prior to the game we were discussing how the Oberliga Nord (German third tier if I've got the league structure right) was on a par with the level Bristol Rovers play at here. By half-time it was evident that Bristol Rovers would tear either of these sides - the visitors were Ludwigsfelder FC - to pieces. LFC looked shit, and Tennis contrived to lose 5-0 to them at home. Still, it was a great experience, partly for the chanting of the fans (among the more surprising tunes were 'Buffalo Soldier' and 'God Save The Queen') and partly for the hilarity of noticing the Ludwigsfelder fans had hung their banner upside down.
The following day (Saturday) we were at Hertha Berlin vs. Werder Bremen in the Olympiastadion. Now, first just let me say that of all the places I've watched football, this was the most impressive in terms of the fan experience. No lavish entertainments put on for fans, but plenty of places to drink, eat (cheaply!), congregate, and all in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere - home and away fans wandering about together and no long queues for currywurst or drinks, if there even were any queues. When we got inside, we found that the away fan section had been overfilled and a large chunk of Werder fans had bought up the tickets in our block (which was across the 'open' end of the stadium from the away section). Having bought Hertha scarfs before the game we were a little nervous, though the presence of an enormous Hertha fan right next to me made it more bearable. There proved no need to worry, everyone got on brilliantly, and the match wasn't bad - Werder scored after about 30 seconds, Hertha equalised on 10 minutes and Werder won it midway through the second half.
On Sunday we ticked off the two remaining 'notable' stadia in the city - Dynamo Berlin in the north-east of the centre (shit - fenced all round so shots inside weren't possible, so we weren't impressed) and then the train out to FC Union Berlin in the east. When we arrived there we wandered round to the entrance and there was a game going on. Wandered into the stand without paying, watched the last five minutes of a Bundesliga 2. Women's game (visitors won 4-0, and we were left suspecting we may be a bit of a curse to home teams in Germany), had a bit of a chat with the fans, took a few pictures, and buggered off again thinking that was it for football on our trip.
Today, with the afternoon to kill before our evening flight home, we stumbled across a football bar near the Zoo and grabbed some food. The proprietor asked us where we were from, and who we supported. When I told him my team he smiled. 'Ah, Manchester United... I played against them once.' He turned out to be this man, a former Tennis (yes!), Hertha (yes!) and Bayern (oh dear) sweeper who played once for Germany in the runup to the 1978 World Cup (he was in the preliminary squad of 30 but didn't make the finals). He was a very, very nice man, and very interesting, although by the time we'd finished our food and got our cameras out he'd buggered off to do something more important.
So, thanks for the advice, those who gave it, and I'll have some photos soon...
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