by Nicole Couturiaux ’12

When local Fußball club SV Werder Bremen has a home game, the entire city gets decked out green and busy with energy from thousands of fans. I get caught up in the frenzy too, sporting my Werder scarf and meeting up with friends to join the public viewing in pubs downtown. This past Friday, though, my fanship was taken to a new a level.

Prof. Ludwig and Jens were able to score tickets for the game against Wolfsburg, so the Dickinson in Bremen program took an evening excursion to the standing block of the stadium. Our group was in the center of the action. Everything you may have heard about the German passion for Fußball is true – and then some! Bratwurst and bier abound, huge flags and scarves are waved in the air, and Bremen’s team chants and songs ring continuously through the stadium.

The best is when the Werder team/lineup is introduced with the announcer calling out the player/coach’s name and the crowd yelling back the last name. At the end of the intro, the announcer calls out “#12, that’s…” and the crowd roars “us!” back and forth a million times! There are actually only 11 players from a team on the field at once, but this cheer shows how strong and important the role of the fans really is. You also get the sense that Werder is much more than a team, Fußball much more than a sport. It’s a commitment, and one that often lasts a lifetime. Though Werder was unable to score and in the end lost, our group had a great time and we’ll ready to show our support in next game – back at our usual pub seating.