A serious and true fan might want their team logo toasted on their bread in the morning.....
Scarves flying.....O-lay........O-lay O-lay O-lay (not Hoo-lay!), O-lay, O-o-o-o-lay. Ja! it's Bundesliga Fussball!
I'll admit right off the bat that I've never been to a profession football game so I have no idea how European soccer compares to that. But wow! The soccer is thrilling and super exciting. O-lay! and funf! funf! funf!
Stands completely full of fans. Sections of fanatics who stand and make noise the whole time.....frequently jumping up and down. Drums. Flags. Strong presence of storm-trooper-geared police. Beer. Really, really awesome soccer!
Steve and I went to a game here in Stuttgart....maximum excitement! I loved it. When Lucy came, she wanted to go too. OK!
Stuttgart was playing away in Karlesruhe, a neighboring and intense rival that's about an hour away by train. Chances of getting tickets were slim but season-ticket people turn in their tickets for a single game to sell. We go for it. Whoa! And so starts the adventure.
The lovely "Hoo-lay" Sisters were on the train on our way there. We forgot to check the map before we left, but in Stuttgart there are special trains for the games....we'll figure it out. HA!
We get there about noon for the 3:30 game. Hop off the train, have NO idea where to go. Look at some maps.....hmmm....OK, let's just follow the scarves.....fans wear scarves.....the colors....of their team.....we follow them on the tram and also hop off the tram when they do. They're lollygagging, no hurry for them, so we strike off on our own, sure we'll see the lights of the stadium once we get in the opening of the palace grounds. HA!
We strike out in the direction we think it's in. Walking (fast, very fast) for miles, through woods and along highways, over hill and dale, whew, we finally get there (about 1) and get 3 of the last 10 tickets. Can't get into the stadium yet though....hmmmphft! Seems like they'd open the gates so the stalls can start selling food (!)....and beer. HA!
I'll admit right off the bat that I've never been to a profession football game so I have no idea how European soccer compares to that. But wow! The soccer is thrilling and super exciting. O-lay! and funf! funf! funf!
Stands completely full of fans. Sections of fanatics who stand and make noise the whole time.....frequently jumping up and down. Drums. Flags. Strong presence of storm-trooper-geared police. Beer. Really, really awesome soccer!
Steve and I went to a game here in Stuttgart....maximum excitement! I loved it. When Lucy came, she wanted to go too. OK!
Stuttgart was playing away in Karlesruhe, a neighboring and intense rival that's about an hour away by train. Chances of getting tickets were slim but season-ticket people turn in their tickets for a single game to sell. We go for it. Whoa! And so starts the adventure.
The lovely "Hoo-lay" Sisters were on the train on our way there. We forgot to check the map before we left, but in Stuttgart there are special trains for the games....we'll figure it out. HA!
We get there about noon for the 3:30 game. Hop off the train, have NO idea where to go. Look at some maps.....hmmm....OK, let's just follow the scarves.....fans wear scarves.....the colors....of their team.....we follow them on the tram and also hop off the tram when they do. They're lollygagging, no hurry for them, so we strike off on our own, sure we'll see the lights of the stadium once we get in the opening of the palace grounds. HA!
We strike out in the direction we think it's in. Walking (fast, very fast) for miles, through woods and along highways, over hill and dale, whew, we finally get there (about 1) and get 3 of the last 10 tickets. Can't get into the stadium yet though....hmmmphft! Seems like they'd open the gates so the stalls can start selling food (!)....and beer. HA!
(The Thug/Hooligan Tree)
We can't figure out where to go in though, it's very confusing which gates go to the sections where you sit. Let's hang out here at this tree (and finish starving to death).....and wait for the gates to open. The 3 of us have tickets in the same section but not together (but we've come this far) so we make a plan to meet at this very special tree should we get separated later.
Then we start noticing all the riot-geared police strolling around our area, some of them with mean and ferocious german shepard dogs. MEAN looking dogs.
Then fan buses start to arrive. OH. These fans leave the busses and.....we....start....to.....notice......My God, this is the HOOLIGAN and THUG section of the stadium. Rough men. Mean-looking men. All in black. Looking like they're ready to fight. Looking like they WANT to fight. Looking like fighting is what they actually came for...........(ha....)
OK, it's 3 now and they still haven't opened the gates. By now we don't think the game's starting at 3:30.....maybe it starts at 4. We decide to leave the Hooligan/Thug section when the gates finally open about 3:30 and they start FRISKING the Hooligan/thugs as they go in. ah, haha....ah.....
Troop through more woods to get to a different gate (it's crazy!) and finally get in and find FOOD. Hotdogs (well, some kind of wurst) 3 times the size of your typical American hotdog. We eat it all, no problem, and the huge roll that goes with it. And drink beer. And sit in a luxurious spot to wait some more. WHEN IS THIS GAME GOING TO START, ANYWAY?!!
No one seems in a hurry but by 4:30 we're tired of the ancient handtruck, wooden pallet, storage shed, peeing fence situation that we've come to call home here at the stadium.....waiting for the game. Maybe the game will start at 5???? So we go in and sit in the empty stadium. All by ourselves. Oh, hahaha.
I think we're a little early......The game does finally start......5:15 I think (what kind of a crazy time is that?)
It's really exciting, we love it, and all the way home....we sit in the upstairs part of the train....we hear the O-lay, O-lay o-lay o-lay of the fans underneath us celebrating and Hoo-laying! and O-laying.
It's really exciting, we love it, and all the way home....we sit in the upstairs part of the train....we hear the O-lay, O-lay o-lay o-lay of the fans underneath us celebrating and Hoo-laying! and O-laying.
The thing to note about this is the number of yellow security people around the Stuttgart section.....HA....the Hooligan/Thug section......The Stuttgart stadium.....
A true-blue fan. I wish I'd gotten one of these dishes for Rosie.
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