BVB

Had one of the quintessential German experiences yesterday. Went to a professional football game. A Borussia Dortmund (or BVB) game, no less. The stadium holds 82, 000 people, but the stadium wasn't quite full. Probably only 70,000 or so, so it was an intimate group.

To get there we drove to cousin Torsten's house where Elke (Torsten's wife) graciously offered to keep Maddie. Timmy (the youngest of the family) waited until we got there so he could ride with us on the train and make sure we got of at the right stop. We squeezed onto this train that I thought was full until we pulled into the next stop and a man on the platform shouted, "No! There is space!" and proceeded to pile in along with 10 more of his close friends. It was all very up close and personal until two stops later when we arrived at the stadium.

It was quite a show. To start the game, they invite a member of each of the fan clubs from neighboring towns to come on the field and wave BVB flags. And they play (of all things!) You'll Never Walk Alone. You know, from the Broadway musical Carousel. Quite the experience to hear at stadium full of Germans singing a show tune in English at a soccer game.

The people watching was fantastic and anyone who says soccer is boring, hasn't seen professional soccer. These guys run up and down a huge field for 90 minutes with only one break and a handful of subs. And how anyone can do what they did with a soccer ball using only their feet is beyond me.

And then, there were the fans. The whole south section is the Sudtribune section. These are the die-hard fans wear the colors, wave the flags, lead the chants and at times jump up and down in unison. A beer cost the same as a soda or water, so you can begin to imagine the atmosphere.

Fortunately, BVB won--for the fist time this season. There was much joy in Mudville.