There was much delight between them because this was the first time they had seen silverware being collected by either of their teams. Unlike many of us bears, they are not used to much success because they follow the fortunes of their local side Hansa Rostock. "Hansa who?" I hear you say.
Well, Hansa do actually play in the top flight of the Bundesliga but their main aim each season is survival. I took my friends up on their invite to visit Rostock and attend a Hansa home match. This would also double up as my European jaunt this year after the debacle in Prague.
Hansa play their home matches at the 'Ostseestadion' (Baltic Sea) which was newly built 2 years ago with a 30,000 capacity. In 3 corners of the stadium there are standing areas which total about 10 000 places. I watched the match from one of these areas at the home end at a cost of 8 euros (roughly £5, with a match program only costing 1 euro)
The atmosphere was electric, with the crowd being whipped up pre-match by someone trackside. Simple, but effective, ways being the team sheet being read out first name only with crowd chanting back the surname.
The 'Hansa' club song being played which everyone, except me, singing along the correct words. Drums and flags were also popular with supporters club banners being allowed to hang over the perimeter wall. The singing was constant for the whole match and the noise was incredible for a crowd of just over 18,000.
I got a feeling of being part of a crowd whose responsibility it was to cheer the team on to victory and not just sit back in silence and expect. Unfortunately Hansa were twice ahead in the match but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Kaiserslautern. The players however showed their appreciation by taking time out at the end to applaud the fans. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the match and was left to wonder if a club of this size and ambition can produce this then why not 'the Rangers'.
I think the Rangers PR could do worse than visit Rostock and see how a crowd can work with the club.
Many thanks to Arne and Uwe for the hospitality shown to us whilst in Germany and also best wishes to Ralf.
Mitch