Baby's first soccer game

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to attend my first ever professional soccer game.  I was to go see the Berlin Hertha (which, I was told by some native Berliner students, is the inferior of the two Berlin soccer teams, even though both teams play in the 2nd league).  Fortunately their local status (or lack thereof) had no baring on my enthusiasm.

I was definitely excited to see the live version of the sport that makes the world go mad (the world except for the US of course).  But I was actually most excited to see where the game was being played: Olympic Stadium here in Berlin.

Olympic Stadium was made infamous from its appearance in the 1936 games inaugurated by Adolf himself and further immortalized in the film Olympia.  What's even cooler, is that it's one of the few structures that survived the war - not just minimally damaged but barely touched.  Only the bell tower of the stadium was brought down, but the bell survived with a giant crack, rendering it silent (interesting in its parallels to our Liberty Bell, in a very different war).

Finding something in Berlin that pre-dates the war is always a special experience, and this was bound to be one of the highlights of the evening.

We arrived at the stadium right after the opening celebration.  Our seats were at one of the end zones, unfortunately (or fortunately), we were seated in the end zone close to where the visiting team's fans were gathered.  But even as we were across the stadium from the Hertha fans, their presence couldn't have gone unnoticed.  They stomped, hollered, and rallied in unison.  Their passion electrified the stadium.

But really, I think most of their energy came out of the need to stay warm.  As it was February and still winter (which, as it turns out is no different than March in Berlin either), I tried to wear a few extra warm layers.  And despite my efforts, my feet were starting to tingle of chill 30 minutes into the game.  It was nearly enough for me to jump up and into the fan bandwagon.  I resisted though, and did what I could to keep myself warm through other means.

At halftime, Bosse and I shared a brat (of which I'd trade in any ballpark frank) and a short 45 minutes later (no sarcasm intended), the game was all over and Hertha had won.

However, one of the most amusing moments of the evening was as we were leaving.  Outside of the stadium, men began lining up along the wall of the olympic pool outside the stadium and relieving themselves of all the beer they drank during the game right into the empty basin.

Overall,  I really enjoyed the game, and I think it was good preparation for a possibly wilder 1st division game if I ever get to one.  Though hopefully next time, it will be a bit warmer.

Panoramic of the stadium interior