Everyone has their own ways of easing their transition into a new duty station after a move. Some find a church group, while others might join a club.
Air Force Reserve Capt. Robert Martin and his wife, Amberly, also joined a local club after arriving in Germany last October – Stuttgart’s top-division soccer team, VfB Stuttgart.
“We’ve been involved in different aspects of soccer culture over the years and have learned it makes a great community when we travel, so it’s something we typically seek out whenever we need to move,” Amberly Martin said. “We’ve found that’s a great way to get a foot into the area.”
So, just days after arriving, with their suitcases still sitting in the Panzer Hotel, they secured tickets to a weekend home game and hopped on the S-Bahn to the MHP Arena in Bad Cannstatt.
The experience was unlike anything the Colorado sports fans had ever encountered: rousing songs and chants from supporters jumping up and down in unison; fan-organized visual displays (known as tifo) across an entire stadium stand, coordinated with music; and overall, “a deeper passion” than other sports and leagues.
“We were so impressed,” said Robert Martin, who promptly signed up for club membership and season tickets. “We were like, ‘we’ve got to go to every game.’”
Just as the Martins were settling into their new surroundings with the help of soccer, so was one of Robert Martin’s officemates – completely separately.
“He sits about ten feet from me,” said Air Force 1st Lt. Alexander Gogol, of the California Air National Guard, laughing. “We didn’t know each other prior to the assignment but ended up in the same office, and then we realized we were both big soccer fans and both going to the games.”
Gogol’s path to supporting the team was nearly identical. He also decided to attend a match early on, not yet knowing many things to do, or people to do them with. Though he had some degree of preexisting interest in the 1. Bundesliga (Germany’s top league), attending in person “immersed” him and turned him into a bona fide Stuttgart fan.
“They had me from the first game,” he admitted. “The atmosphere is second to none.”
Both the Martins and Gogol are official members of VfB, a status that offers more than just early access to tickets.
Unlike in American sports, where top-division professional teams are franchises within closed leagues that can be bought, sold, and moved by individual owners, German soccer teams are run by local clubs that fans can join, gaining voting rights over major management decisions. A unique set of rules requires that Bundesliga teams be majority-owned by supporters.
With 80,000 members as of summer 2023, VfB Stuttgart – founded in 1893 – is the largest sports club in the state of Baden-Württemberg and one of the best-supported teams in the country.
“It really is fan-owned and dominated, and you feel that energy when you walk through the gates of the stadium,” Gogol said. “The fans take pride in where they’re from; they live and breathe this stuff.”
Some sports observers consider the Bundesliga’s fan ownership structure to be a major reason for why ticket and concession prices are generally much more affordable at German soccer games compared to other top leagues around Europe. And while the worst sporting outcome for most North American teams is not making the playoffs, 1. Bundesliga teams must perform well enough each season to avoid demotion to the second division.
It’s a scenario that VfB, a five-time German champion, nearly found itself facing recently, though the team successfully secured its place for 2023-24 with a resounding victory in a two-legged (home-and-away) series over Hamburg’s HSV in June.
When the first round in Stuttgart ended 3-0 in VfB’s favor, the passion of the celebrations “was almost like we had won the league,” Amberly Martin said.
Gogol, who was also present, felt “the stadium could have registered as an earthquake.”
Asked to share advice for first-time visitors, the suggestions were unanimous: become a member to gain early access to tickets, which are often hard to get in general sale. Arrive at games early to soak in the atmosphere and take part in spirited pre-match rituals. And above all, quite simply, go.
“From the outside, it might seem very intimidating, but everyone’s super welcoming and very friendly,” Robert Martin said. “It’s a really, really good way to meet people with a common interest.”
Both he and Gogol explained that the VfB fan community in general, whether DoD-affiliated or not, is always helpful in answering questions and describing what to expect.
Feel free to bring along children, too.
“There have been families and large groups of kids in almost every section we’ve been in, but there’s also a specific family section,” Amberly Martin said. “We actually sat there once and they had little chant cards, flags, and everything for the kids, so they also get them involved.”
No worries about a language barrier, either.
“Soccer is its own kind of language…you can just cheer along and clap, and the fans will accept you just the same,” Gogol said. “Don’t be dissuaded – come out and try it once, and I swear, you’ll get hooked.”
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2023 13:06 |
| Story ID: | 461022 |
| Location: | STUTTGART, BW, DE |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Temporary assignment, permanent passion: community members find a home away from home with VfB Stuttgart, by Bardia Khajenoori, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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