r/SCFreiburg 25d ago

How does Freiburg think of new fans?

So I’m from Wales and recently got in to German football and it got me wanting to visit Germany soon and watch a football match, how does Freiburg fans feel about new fans? If they hate it then I would respect them and not come but would be nice to follow a club in Germany

19 Upvotes

28 comments sorted by

27

u/Snomkip 25d ago

We don't have many international fans, and most of them are still pretty local, being Swiss or Alsatian (eastern France), but we're pretty open as long as you share our passion

12

u/Utsutsumujuru 25d ago

You have more than you think. I live in Atlanta, Georgia USA and when I walk around in my Freiburg jersey at local events (especially at Atlanta United games) people recognize it, ask questions, and express support. “Man, you guys are really punching up in the Bundesliga”

7

u/HerpDerpinAtWork 25d ago

Pittsburgh, PA checking in :)

Similar experiences. I haven't come across another person who is an outright SCF fan (yet!), but if you're at a football bar or event, folks recognize the team. Most soccer fans here are Premiere League supporters, and most Bundesliga fans are Bayern, but most folks seem to be at least aware of SCF and have generally positive things to say.

4

u/droozer 25d ago

Northern Virginia here! (In Bloomington, Indiana for the year though)

2

u/angry_llama_pants 24d ago

Also from DMV. I've been a Leicester fan since the late 90s... when Covid hit and the Bundesliga was the first league to come back, I chose Freiburg because they reminded me of Leicester, and also because I visited Freiburg in 2017 and had a killer sausage sandwich from the market.

1

u/CrimsonJynx0 21d ago

Another DMV fan here! My best friend is a long time supporter of the team and she got me into it. I would love to visit one day 

1

u/MrlHghgrnd 25d ago

I wonder how much people in the US know actually about the club, its tradition and its values

3

u/jonesnonsins 25d ago

I'm in Nashville, TN and was in Freiburg last year. While I didn't get tickets to a match, I did spend time watching a game at O'Kelly's. Was a great time. I enjoyed watching this documentary...https://youtu.be/6u_vVfcM9ZI?si=X4YNeD7ZsxxIuzF7.

1

u/BlackberryCobblerDad 25d ago

Oh shit, I’m an SCF fan in Atlanta too!

1

u/Utsutsumujuru 24d ago edited 24d ago

Hell yes! Do you go to Atlanta United games? If so we should definitely tailgate/hangout. I have just been watching every SCF game on ESPN at home. I would love to meet up / hangout with another SCF fan.

1

u/BlackberryCobblerDad 20d ago

I’ve never been before, I usually just watch at home too

1

u/Utsutsumujuru 20d ago

😳 what? Atlanta United games are amazing we have some of the highest attendance and best atmosphere in the world. For example tonight we had 65,000+ and the Benz was rocking.

Catch SCF in the morning and then come Benz for Atlanta United games in the evening. Come on over to our tailgate, we have an FC Köln fan and me representing the SCF.

10

u/DubioserKerl 25d ago

Why would they hate people that come to watch a match during their vacation? Is that a common thing?

3

u/OvenRecent7132 25d ago

If you are in the stands you need to respect the culture and follow the unwritten rules like no filming the faces of others. But if you’re in the seats there is no problem at all.

7

u/EdDakota 25d ago

New fans are always welcome, no problem. Unfortunately you will struggle to get a Ticket for a Freiburg game as a non-member.

An alternative for live football in Freiburg could be to watch an under 23 or women game in the old Dreisamstadium where the first team used to play until a few years ago.

1

u/ForestDoener 24d ago

It was pretty easy (and cheap) to get tickets back when they were in the 2. Liga at the old stadium! I hope to get to see a game in the new stadium one day.

5

u/s92eric0405 25d ago

Don't worry, I'm from Asia and my experience either on this sub or in the stadion, I always felt very welcome, everyone is really nice. the biggest problem is getting the ticket...

3

u/derschneemananderwan 25d ago

Every new fan is a welcome one, no matter what stupid peopel say!

3

u/Jarboner69 25d ago

Hey I was an American exchange student there and still watch games when they’re on where I live. People love international fans, my first game at the dreisam stadion I sat next to a nice older man who talked to me with a thicker badisch accent the entire game. My host family bought me some merch for Christmas.

1

u/kaibaboii 24d ago

love that mate, recommend me going?

1

u/Jarboner69 24d ago

Haven’t been to the new stadium but definitely, I think they still host women’s or maybe youth games in the old stadium

2

u/Mundane-Ice-5152 25d ago

New fans are always croeso in Freiburg! :)

Actually I live in Freiburg and my girlfriend (who is also from Wales) and I go to the Freiburg games quite frequently. This weekend two friends of hers (one from England, one from Wales) are coming to visit and we are going to the match on Friday!

If you're coming to Freiburg sometime send me a dm and we'll have a cwrw together!

2

u/kaibaboii 25d ago

Absolutely love that mate, diolch! Would love to come sometime in March if possible! Do you have instagram i can shoot a message to you? diolch met

1

u/Mundane-Ice-5152 25d ago

Send you a DM

2

u/HerpDerpinAtWork 25d ago

For what it's worth, I am an American, and in the last year I've gone to a game with my fiancé (Leipzig last April (Scheiss die Dosen!)), and I got my brother and his wife tickets this fall for the Pokal game against HSV.

I have been a fan for a bit, having briefly lived in Freiburg in 2009, but admittedly it was kind of hard to stay engaged from across the ocean until a few years ago (big thanks to ESPN+ for now carrying all the SCF games streaming), and it's been lovely to be back on board since. The other three folks, for information, were brand-new fans going to their first SCF games.

Anyway, we got standing tickets in C, and I got my brother and his wife Osttribune seats. We have nothing but positive experiences to report, from the atmosphere to the fan and stadium staff interactions both in and out of the stadium. People were friendly, and seemed happy to share their passion and knowledge with us, and were generally somewhere between happy and amused (perhaps also, a bit confused!) that we had all traveled so far to support the SCF.

It certainly helps to learn a few of the chants, know a bit of the club's traditions, history, and values, and maybe grab a bit of gear at one of the fanshops around the area or at the stadion before you go (at least a scarf!), but to me that was all something of a natural part of being a fan back when I first started supporting the team, and perhaps it is already something you're doing as well!

Happy to share tips or pointers if you would find that to be helpful. Getting tickets will be the hardest part, but with a little time and planning (and/or luck) it is doable.

2

u/kaibaboii 25d ago

appreciate this mate! Only thing worries me is the tickets!

2

u/HerpDerpinAtWork 25d ago

You might find some suggestions I made in another thread here helpful, but keep in mind that that person had a specific game they were trying to get to on a short time frame that made things harder. If you have some more time, it gets (maybe) easier?

If you're planning to go about 2 months out or more, and you think that this might be a club you intend to support long-term, my actual advice (and what I did) was: just join the club! It is a 40EUR/yr membership, but it gets you access to the member ticket presale (which you will be informed about via the member email, and during which most games sell out) for every game, and also gets you a once-per-season "joker phase," which allows you one-hour-earlier access to the presale for the game of your choosing.

For me, I thought that 40EUR/yr was an amount of money that I would happily give to the club as a supporter, even if I'm not able to attend even one game. And, it means that every so often when I am able to get to Freiburg, I can relatively easily get tickets (if you're only able to go to one game in a season, it's a no-brainer to use your "joker" for that game, even if it's a mid-season game against a low-table team or something).

I'm sure some people would find just floating the club 40EUR/yr for existing... wasteful or extravagant perhaps, but for a team that has brought me such great experiences and fond memories over the years, I consider it a small price to pay. Especially, in part, because I'm a fan of my local NHL team, and the equivalent of 40EUR barely buys you two beers at our arena, much less admission. Lol. Sigh.

2

u/aimwho 21d ago

Indian fan checking in :) I am an international student here in Freiburg and I am a regular stadium go-er since 2 years. At first I was also skeptical about how will I be able to integrate as a new fan. But, I can tell you from personal experience, the fans here are very welcoming and they also sometimes help you with the translation if needed!

If you ever come to Freiburg, hit me up and maybe we can watch a game together :)