“Was für Eltern muss man haben, um so verdorben zu sein…“–Die Toten Hosen, “Bayern”
Bayern
Well, that was exhausting. Incredibly proud of how we played, and how we didn’t give up even after being three goals down at two separate points. It reminds me of the away game against Frankfurt last year—a bit of bad luck, a bit of an off day, but a hell of a fight. Nothing to be ashamed about here. On the contrary, there’s everything to be proud of. Ryerson finally scored his (much deserved) first Bundesliga goal, something that’s been a long time coming. It’s always a joy to watch an unheralded player become an absolute force, and this goal merely formalizes what we all know about Julian. I don’t suspect it will be his last for us, either.
It’s good to have the Ultras back, and it was noticeable in their support. It’s also worth expressing our absolute best wishes to everyone involved in the medical incident, and it is our fervent hope that everybody is OK. Against that background, the game means very little indeed.
It’s always annoying to play against Bayern, and I find I dislike them more and more—less for their dominance, and more in the way it is achieved. Awash in Qatari blood money, they ignore the one truly stellar part of Bayern, Schickeria, which hearken back to a day when Bayern was both good and a force for justice. Instead they favor of the kind of pudgy, 50-year old corporate mediocrities and bandwagon Oktoberfest tourists that now comprise their true constituency. It’s as obnoxious as it is predictable to hear some American drone on about the weekend they spent blackout in Munich and how they love “football” and are now massive Bayern fans because they bought a jersey at the airport. They don’t know the tradition; they’re only there for the wins, and one day, when that goes, there will be nothing left for them. Schickeria will still be there, and then Bayern will be truly good again.
Anyway, it’s been radio silence for a while for us because of professional commitments. The happy news is that we’ll be meeting up in Philadelphia for the annual Wiedersehen with Steffen Baumgart. Meanwhile, there are a lot of developments to comment on, so we’ve tried and failed to keep it short here:
It’s been lost in the noise, but this is definitely the most important administrative development of the season. The creation of a commission, appointed by the presidium, that has power over what constitutional changes are put to membership vote, is not a positive development for our rights, and we need to push back against it. It lacks both transparency and direct fan input; we have no say in what is decided and no ability to understand why it was decided.
And hey, I get it. Zingler’s been good to us so far, and there’s no reason to suggest he will abuse it. But being right in the past doesn’t mean he’ll be right in the future, and he won’t remain president forever. We’ve got to structure our club in a way that limits opportunities for executives to abuse power. By controlling what does and doesn’t get put to vote, the presidium effectively has a veto right over any restrictions on its power.
I understand why it was done, but there are other ways to achieve that goal. The commission could include directly elected fan representatives, and debatably should have a majority of the same. Transparency would also be a move in the right direction, but nearly enough. Or, we could keep the commission, but also create a way around it: for example, if a proposed constitutional change hits a minimum threshold of membership (say 15-20%) the club would be obligated to put it to membership vote. These are all ways to reduce frivolous applications—which in any case don’t seem to have been a real problem—without restricting fan rights.
Anti-Semitism
This is simple and direct: zero tolerance for antisemitism. If you see it, document, confront, and report. They hate being on camera, and that makes any later investigation so much easier. Anyone who displays such behavior is no Unioner at heart and don’t belong with us. The statement from the fanclubs was strong, and we totally agree; it would be nice to see the Ultras sign on.
I realize it also ruined the evening for a lot of people, which is understandable, but I’d say that we can simultaneously be proud of most fans’ hospitality while taking a firm line against anti-semitism. As infuriating as it is that we couldn’t control what happened, it’s up to us what happens next, so let’s take the positive momentum of pretty much everyone else and use it to bury the retrograde attitudes of those disgusting racists who have infiltrated the club.
Rotterdam
There’s not much to say here other than the “police” absolutely failed and were a complete joke. Their interventions were exactly designed to escalate the situation and provoke violence, and along with the unconscionable attack the night before and Feyenoord’s inability to create a safe environment, surely means that Feyenoord do not deserve a single ticket to Thursday’s game. From a practical safety standpoint, they’ve thrown that chance away. That this unprovoked and violent outburst is all somehow justified by the occupation involves such insane mental gymnastics that it’s not even worth addressing amongst reasonable people. If they actually wanted to root out facism, they’d look at themselves first.
3G/2G
I used to not find this a big deal, but now it’s becoming a bit of a farce. The successful implementation of 2G elsewhere has shown it can be done, and 3G, which was initially justified on the grounds that it would give the most people the opportunity to go to a game, is now doing the exact opposite. In the most charitable interpretation, i.e. that we want to keep it open for those who can’t be vaxxed, we’re still protecting a very small minority at the cost of a much larger group. If it’s really about letting the most people back in, then 2G is the way to go. Also, for all the talk of “solutions”, there’s been remarkably little talk about creating an exception to 2G for those who can’t be vaccinated, which would seem an easier lift.
On the other hand, this recent shenanigan with the court application might just be creating an excuse for 2G. It would allow the club to say “see? We tried.”. If that’s the play, then Herr Zingler, I applaud.
Sports
Despite us approaching Hertha-esque levels of drama in this season, we’re doing alright. The matches against Maccabi and Feyenoord give me hope for our European campaign (also big ups to the Maccabi fans with the Pyro, that’s some good shit). And despite the last two games we seem to be gathering momentum in the league. I feel bad for Sheraldo not having a spot, but I’m loving how much Taiwo is clearly enjoying himself. Also, you can pretty much yell his name like “GRISCHAAAA” which is cool. Max has been off his goal scoring game but that’ll come back, and in the meantime his mentality and creativity are both crucial and sorely missed. Kevin Behrens and Voglsammer have been revelatory. Friedrich is still unjustly ignored for the national team. Everyone sleeps on Robin Knoche. Rani Khedira is quickly overcoming his RB background with workmanlike performances week in and week out. I no longer believe that Genki Haraguchi ever played for the Blau-Weiß; I think that’s the Mandela Effect. Also he’s going to score soon.
Wolfsburg will be difficult. But damn, what a sad, sad team. Imagine being a world-class player and living in…Wolfsburg? Yeah right. We all know they pretty much live in Berlin anyway. So we’re already in their heads. Now we just got to bring the Thunder. 2-1 to us at home.
Various
We’re planning a meetup in the Philly area. Also, if you’re in NYC, drop us a line! We’ve got a reliable bar now, but we need to make reservations.