By Matthias Koch and Sebastian Karkos
Is 1. FC Union really different from other football clubs? At least for many, the Union phenomenon means more than just what happens on the day of the game. This is mainly due to the fan culture.
For decades, supporters have been the club’s greatest advertising vehicle. What makes a real Union fan? BZ names 25 things that every Unioner must have done once in their (fan) life.
1) Belt out “Oh Tannenbaum” with 28,500 people while singing Christmas. It is the largest event of the association on December 23rd every year in the Alte Försterei.
2) Watch an away game on the screens in the Offside Trap Fan Pub. It is located in close proximity to the Union Stadium.
3) Participate in or watch the dragon boat race on the Grünau regatta course on the last weekend in August. Fan club teams meet to determine a winner on the 200 meter course.
4) Own a Union Stadium share. With the Iron Ones, part of the stadium belongs to the fans. In 2011, 10,000 units were sold at a price of 500 euros each (4,136 were ultimately sold). The club is considering issuing new shares.
5) Visit “Tusches Kick and Rush” – the fan bar of club legend Torsten Mattuschka. In the vicinity of the old town, not only the Union games take place.
Christmas singing at Union Berlin (archive photo) Photo: picture alliance/dpa
6) Sing along to the “Mattuschka song” before a free kick. Although the ex-director left Union in 2014, it is still regularly sung in front of free kicks near the penalty area: “Torsten Mattuschka, you are the best man. Torsten Mattuschka, you can do what nobody can. Put him in for the club.” It’s a tribute to the former free-kick specialist.
7) Participate in a European Cup away trip.
8) Sing “Always look on the bright side of life” when you lose a lot and sway along to the snow waltz in winter.
9) Eat a stadium sausage in the Alte Försterei – but the Krakauer (price: 3.50 euros)!
10) Take a photo at the cup winner’s monument in front of the grandstand. In 1968 Union won its only title so far: the GDR Cup. The work of art in front of the stadium has been a reminder of this for five years.
11) Be silent for the first 15 minutes of the game against RB because of RB. It is part of the attitude of many in Köpenick to reject the club from Leipzig. If there are games against RB, the Union fan is silent in protest against the so-called “construct”.
12) Sing along to the Nina Hagen anthem before kick-off and roar the loudest during the passage “We won’t let the West buy us”.
13) Complaining about too few tickets and too long online ticket waiting times. Union home games are usually sold out and demand exceeds supply.
14) Go to winter or summer training camp. Union in Koepenick? Anyone can do that. Traditionally, many supporters also go to the training camps. In January 2023 in Spain there were around 300. This summer, from July 24th to August 2nd, we are going to Bramberg am Wildkogel in Austria.
15) Let Knight Keule hug you. The 2.35 meter tall mascot has not only been a favorite of children for over 22 years.
The Union mascot Photo: Olaf Selchow
16) Getting a tattoo of Captain Christopher Trimmel. If the Union captain wasn’t a footballer, he would be making tattoos full-time. After jumping into the football upper house in 2019, he promised fans a promotion tattoo. Around 30 came. It won’t be the last.
17) Call out 40 points as a goal for the season (like coach Urs Fischer has done year after year since promotion), no matter where the team is and has landed before.
18) Take a leisurely walk from the Köpenick S-Bahn station through the forest to the stadium.
19) Participate in the Union Prize Skat Tournament. It usually takes place in the “Offside Trap” at the end of the year.
20) Sail across the Spree to the game with “Eddyline”. In spring or summer, for example, the passenger ship service departs from the city center in the direction of the Alte Försterei.
21) Coming with numerous fans in a bicycle parade from the center to the home games at the Alte Försterei. 100 drivers can get together!
22) Travel to an away game by special train. The (party) train, which is equipped with a disco and bar car, is not for the faint-hearted. The entire journey can take up to 24 hours…
The play is part of the Union tradition
23) Visit the Union Theater play in winter. For many, it is part of the contemplative pre-Christmas tradition.
24) Cheer for the women’s team! It still plays in the third-class regional league. The goal is the Bundesliga.
25) Eat in the soup kitchen at the fan house on Tuesdays and/or make a donation. Since 2020, the Union Foundation has been supporting the Berliner Tafel by handing out a soup under the motto “Iron instead of lonely”.