SATURDAY, 4/27:
It was a bit of a chippy game, with a
very controversial goal, but in the end it was the final score that
mattered--
RB Leipzig 2, SC Freiburg 1.
Greetings once again from Leipzig,
where my ears are still ringing following the Bundesliga match at Red
Bull Arena. This game was, of course, the reason we took this
particular trip, and so our entire day was built around it. We made
sure we got to the stadium as early as we could, just to soak in the
atmosphere, and then we stayed a bit afterwards, both to let the
crowd thin out and to wonder just why the drunk guy fell out of the
stands & plopped 10 feet onto the concrete below.
Oh wait, he was a drunk guy. Never
mind.
Now, I know that a), the game wasn't
shown in the US and 2). you probably don't care anyway, but it was an
exciting match, so I'll be posting a video link to the highlights of
the game at the end of this. When we arrived Thursday and went to
the fan shop I bought two player jerseys, and both of those players
each scored a goal today so, you know, they owe me. And the two
players Loraine bought jerseys for played spectacular games
themselves, which made her happy, so it was a win-win situation all
around, for both us and the team.
Would you like a quick photographic
trip through the game? We hopped on a tram, and had to make the
short walk through a bunch of parking lots, where we had our first
sighting of the stadium--
In a grass field, they have all kinds
of games and activities set up for kids--
You then wait until exactly two pm, and not
one second before because, after all, this is Germany and precision
matters. The gates open and the fans started flocking up the
stairs--
Where the holy grail of eastern Germany
soccer awaits--
If you want, you can buy a beer.
Admittedly, we bought it for the cup it came in, but we didn't think
they'd sell us just the cup, so we bought the entire package, and
managed to slurp it down by the time the game ended--
Soon, the players came out for their
warm-ups--
And the crowd cheered wildly. That was
nothing, though, to the roar that arose when the actual player
introductions were made--
Especially in the section near us, the
official fan section--
We actually chose the seats we did so
we'd be near the fan section, just so we could experience it. And it
was pretty much what we expected. The entire game the section was
singing, beating drums, cheering, chanting, and, I assume, watching
the game. That section alone is the reason my ears are still ringing
and, truth be told, the reason the drunk guy fell 10 feet onto the
concrete.
Because, you know, he fell over the
railing in the fan section.
The game got underway--
And 17 minutes into it Timo Werner
scored his 15th goal of the season to put the home team
ahead. Fans were happy, as were the beer vendors--
They actually have a cool way of
delivering the beer here. Instead of hauling around a rack of
sloshing cups filled with foaming liquid that spills everywhere, the
beer vendor carried what is basically a backpack full of beer around,
and pumps it out like he would from a keg into your waiting cup.
It's a device Homer Simpson would love.
But more on that later.
The action continued--
And a few minutes into the second half
Freiburg scored on a goal that probably still has people talking. It
was a free kick in front of the Leipzig goal, and the Leipzig players
were not yet set up and ready to go when Freiburg kicked the ball.
I'm not a soccer expert, but I was surrounded by 40,000 of them, and
while they may not have been the most impartial of judges, based on
their reaction something was not right. And seeing as how Leipzig
players were arguing with the referee for a few minutes afterwards,
I'm guessing they weren't much in agreement, either.
Oh, there were actually slightly more
than 40,000 of us there--
Loraine and I were two of those!
Not knowing how the game would turn out
the mood in the crowd turned tense, until a call for a hand ball in the
penalty area against Freiburg sent the Leipzig Viking, Emil Forsberg,
up for a penalty kick--
Which he scored a few second later,
sending Leipzig up 2-1, and within a few minutes the game ended and
The Beastie Boys “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)”
burst forth from the speakers, officially sending RB Leipzig into the
Champions League next year--
The Champions League is basically the
be all and end all of European soccer. In addition to their regular
league play, the top teams in each league play each other throughout
the season to crown the European champion. Some teams (cough cough
Bayern Munich) actually consider the Champions League more important
than their home league, will spent zillions of Euros to bring in the
best players, and then consider the season a loss if they only
win their home league and not the Champions League.
And after winning today, Leipzig gets
to experience it again next year. After the victory, the players
came over to salute the fans--
And with smiles on our faces, all
40,000+ of us went home--
Loraine and I walked the 3 kilometers
back to the hotel, barely beating the rain that started to fall,
although we could've been packed into trams like human sardines, if
we had wished--
All in all, it was an amazing
experience, and one that I'm so happy Loraine was able to scratch off
her bucket list. I'm guessing the smile won't be leaving her face
for a few days!
8-)
Okay...just to prove that we did a few
things other than soccer today, here's today's totally gratuitous
shot of lilacs, this time next to a street wagon that sells beer--
Today's totally gratuitous Leipzig
street musician shot--
That young man, like many other street
musicians around here, was playing Ed Sheeran's Shape of You” on
his vibraphone. I don't know for sure, but based on the number of
times we've heard it play the past few days I'm guessing it was one
of Germany's biggest hits the past few years. And I learned
something today about the tradition of street musicians in Leipzig,
and how they may have been a catalyst in those protests that brought
down the old East German government 30 years ago.
I'll share that story tomorrow.
And finally, you know how I mentioned
how Homer Simpson might like the beer backpack the vendors carry
around on their backs in Red Bull Arena? Well, that thought must have occurred because Homer was stuck in my mind, both from the doughnut package we
saw in a store this morning--
And from what popped up on the TV when we
turned it on looking for the soccer pre-game show.
D'oh!
(ps—because I'm not currently in the U.S. You Tube won't allow me access to the English-language version of the game highlights, so if you're REALLY curious as to what went on today just CLICK HERE and, assuming they've been posted, they should be the first thing that pops up after the search. If, of course, you're curious, and don't have anything better to do, like grouting your sink or re-creating the Taj Mahal out of your belly button lint).
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