The subject of the international supporters is something dear to my heart for fairly obvious reasons. Before I even start however I feel obliged to make clear that I speak only for myself here and claim no platform to speak for others. So, having cleared that up why follow a club based hundreds of miles away from the land of my birth?
I first came to Berlin back in 2006 as a city break. I had already visited a number of European cities on long weekends and I was interested in the history of the city. There was added interest as there is, allegedly, a little German blood running through my veins and my wife is half German so it made sense to visit the capital. Being a sensible sort of chap that’s exactly what we did and set off for a four day break in the magnificent city that is Berlin.
I first came to Berlin back in 2006 as a city break. I had already visited a number of European cities on long weekends and I was interested in the history of the city. There was added interest as there is, allegedly, a little German blood running through my veins and my wife is half German so it made sense to visit the capital. Being a sensible sort of chap that’s exactly what we did and set off for a four day break in the magnificent city that is Berlin.
Well, what can I say, I came, I saw and I was conquered. We fell in love with the place and returned again, again and again. Very early on we decided to go and watch some football in the historic Olympiastadion just as a cultural experience. Sadly I can no longer recall the exact game that we first saw but clearly it made quite an impact as I started following Hertha from that point onwards and became increasing involved going to more and more matches. At first this involved buying more and more day tickets but for the last five seasons I have had a season ticket for the Olympiastadion.
I think that where you are born does not, and indeed should not, dictate where you end up feeling a connection to - where you feel at home. Perhaps the words of Marvin Gaye are appropriate here - “Wherever I hang my hat (that’s my home)”. Well my black beanie hat is hanging on a peg in my hall in Berlin and it’s is increasingly here where I feel comfortable, where I feel at home. A massive part of that now is following Hertha and the people I have met in Berlin through doing so.
I think that where you are born does not, and indeed should not, dictate where you end up feeling a connection to - where you feel at home. Perhaps the words of Marvin Gaye are appropriate here - “Wherever I hang my hat (that’s my home)”. Well my black beanie hat is hanging on a peg in my hall in Berlin and it’s is increasingly here where I feel comfortable, where I feel at home. A massive part of that now is following Hertha and the people I have met in Berlin through doing so.
I am lucky in that I spend a lot of time in Berlin; many fans need to keep up to speed from whichever country they normally live. Far bigger clubs than Hertha are promoting an international fan base and the associated merchandising sales by touring the Far East or The United States. While I am not suggesting Hertha could do anything like that, in my opinion it would be a mistake to discriminate too heavily against even one time visitors to the Olympiastadion. I feel that this is the case for no other reason than the process of becoming a dedicated fan has to start somewhere and it’s not always rooted in the ground being in the next street or because your father, grandfather or uncle followed the team. There are increasing numbers of international supporters and many of them are repeat offenders. I have heard of other people who come from Switzerland and the UK for most home games. These are dedicated fans that have something to contribute and have opinions just like any Herthaner.
One difficulty in following a club in another country can be the issue of language. If, like me, you are “linguistically challenged” this can pose certain difficulties in keeping up to speed but also a sense of involvement in the club. Naturally most of the content relating to a club like Hertha appears in German. BT Sport now shows a selection of Bundesliga games in the UK and ITV4 show the week’s highlights. Comparatively recently Hertha have launched English twitter accounts and little videos on YouTube providing some background in English. These, although not perfect by any means, are major steps forward for international fans that use English as a lingua franca.
One difficulty in following a club in another country can be the issue of language. If, like me, you are “linguistically challenged” this can pose certain difficulties in keeping up to speed but also a sense of involvement in the club. Naturally most of the content relating to a club like Hertha appears in German. BT Sport now shows a selection of Bundesliga games in the UK and ITV4 show the week’s highlights. Comparatively recently Hertha have launched English twitter accounts and little videos on YouTube providing some background in English. These, although not perfect by any means, are major steps forward for international fans that use English as a lingua franca.
Clearly there is a growing interest in Hertha by fans outside Berlin/Brandenburg and even Germany. There are already “official fan clubs” (OFCs) for Hertha in a number of countries including: Denmark, Sweden, Hungary, Spain and of course the UK.
There are English language Twitter accounts by enthusiastic Hertha fans and fan groups such as @HerthaBerlinUK, @HerthaBerlinUSA and @Hertha_Ireland. I also do try to do my bit by tweeting photos and video clips of matches and Hertha related stuff. I do feel however that more that could be done that would help but be a little less ambitious than flying the team out to China to play in a good will tour.
One suggestion might be to host forums to discuss matters concerning the club where International can interact with English speaking Berliners and take part in informed debates on matters like: the local fan scene, the new stadium, financial backers and even pink shirts if they choose. Such a forum could easily be hosted on local Official Fan club websites such as Axel Kruse Jugend rather than by Hertha themselves. They key thing being that it has to have sufficient inquisitive contributors matched by well informed contributors as well.
Another suggestion might be to have an informative podcasts in English with knowledgeable guests that could debate matters of interest – perhaps even some of the English speaking players. Some of the generic Bundesliga pods are grotesquely biased towards the likes of Bayern in my opinion and so are a little difficult to stomach at times.
The key to all this is keeping international fans well informed about what’s going on in the club from pink shirts to the prospect of a new stadium. Where the connection becomes truly alive is when links are forged between International supporters and local fans.
There are English language Twitter accounts by enthusiastic Hertha fans and fan groups such as @HerthaBerlinUK, @HerthaBerlinUSA and @Hertha_Ireland. I also do try to do my bit by tweeting photos and video clips of matches and Hertha related stuff. I do feel however that more that could be done that would help but be a little less ambitious than flying the team out to China to play in a good will tour.
One suggestion might be to host forums to discuss matters concerning the club where International can interact with English speaking Berliners and take part in informed debates on matters like: the local fan scene, the new stadium, financial backers and even pink shirts if they choose. Such a forum could easily be hosted on local Official Fan club websites such as Axel Kruse Jugend rather than by Hertha themselves. They key thing being that it has to have sufficient inquisitive contributors matched by well informed contributors as well.
Another suggestion might be to have an informative podcasts in English with knowledgeable guests that could debate matters of interest – perhaps even some of the English speaking players. Some of the generic Bundesliga pods are grotesquely biased towards the likes of Bayern in my opinion and so are a little difficult to stomach at times.
The key to all this is keeping international fans well informed about what’s going on in the club from pink shirts to the prospect of a new stadium. Where the connection becomes truly alive is when links are forged between International supporters and local fans.
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