We’re Hertha and You’re Not
By: Abby | October 19th, 2009I have a couple friends here who are fellow Bundesliga fans. When we meet up, we chat about what’s going on in the league, the stories and gossip of our respective teams. It’s usually pretty fun.
These days, they’ve been asking me “what’s up with Hertha?” And every time I reply “I have no damn clue.”
Because really, what else can I say? Every time I think we’ve hit bottom, somehow it manages to get worse. Every ray of hope is a false dawn. And there’s not a good explanation for it. Even the new manager is shocked at the size of the task ahead.
What is clear is that something is very wrong. And it’s everywhere.
The capitulation against Nürnberg, no great shakes themselves, is just another sign of that. I don’t want to say that they can’t get worse, because honestly, I’m sure Hertha will find a way to make it worse, so let’s just say it’s very, very bad and leave it at that.
Even the ultras are fed up. Tensions have been high between Hertha fans and Hertha players since rumors of the players having something to do with Favre’s firing came to light (and earlier, I’m sure). Against Nürnberg, the normal chants turned against the team, things like “we’re Herthaners and you’re not.” The fans, those who have loved this unloveable, unfashionable team, are justifiably angry.
It’s one thing if they’re just not good, but we remember what these players can do. What’s most upsetting, both to ultras in Berlin and me here in Seattle, is that the team seems to have stopped trying. At one point earlier in the season we looked like we were just unlucky- now we just look hopeless.
Where do the fans go in this situation? I don’t like the idea of abandoning your team in their ultimate need. That’s not how fandom is supposed to work. But when the players seem to care so little about playing themselves, what are we supposed to do?
Where do any of us go from here?
Category: Team News
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One place I’m not going is to the Stadium on Thursday night. I bought the ticket in the package deal but now I’d have to pay someone to take it off my hands. Who wants to sit in the freezing cold and watch that mob? Sure I’ll be back on Sunday to watch Wolfsburg destroy us but only cause I want to see what action the Ultras take. I remember a cheering boycott a couple of years ago, but who’d notice anymore, there is nothing to cheer about.
Posted from
Germany
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Oh dear. I haven’t seen Berlin play this year, but I have to imagine some of the problem lays with the goalkeeper issue.
If it makes you feel any better, even Wolfsburg and Bayern are having problems meeting expectations so far. And Bayern spent a lot of money to have this problem!
Posted from
United States -
The ‘proper’ reaction as a fan is always difficult to pin down with a club like Hertha. Whatever the reasons all of us have for our respective attachments to Hertha, I’m sure that winning lots of trophies isn’t among them, but there’s no excusing the total apathy that leads to a 3-0 loss to Nürnberg.
I started out just trying to revel in the absurdity of it all, but with each passing week, I want to respond with a Linnea Quigley style, extended shriek, but I simply don’t have the pipes for that.
Posted from
United States -
I’ll be there on Thursday, because I agree with Abby: I don’t like the idea of abandoning my team when they need me (even if they might not deserve my support right now). Plus, I’m afraid I’ll miss our first win in months if I skip a game.
Posted from
Germany -
Well it is bad now but there is plenty of time – which may not be a good thing. But I am still hoping for a good result Thursday, though if we lose this one, I hope we can just dump our remaining matches there and focus on safety. One positive result can change everything. I can say for myself I am ready for this fight, the fight of our lives!
Posted from
United States -
The biggest problem I currently see is that Hertha chose to have their little big meltdown at the absolutely worst possible moment really. Because the fixture calendar handed Hertha a very easy start into the season. When I first looked at it I actually thought that Hertha would be in smooth waters very quickly and could probably build up the type of momentum they had last season for the big matches.
Now though Hertha already lost against basically all direct competitors except for Hannover and face a schedule with mostly big clubs looming large until the winter break. Apart from Hertha handing their direct competitors three points, those clubs also profited from lucky breaks. Freiburg managed to upset Schalke, Mainz caught Bayern on the wrong foot, Cologne met Stuttgart when they were at their low point, Frankfurt surprised Werder Bremen etc.
Hertha in theory and desperately need those lucky results, because beating an in form Leverkusen, Bayern, Schalke, … side is currently near impossible for Hertha, even if Funkel manages to inject some spirit and restore some of Hertha’s excellent organization they used to have under Favre last season. At least there’s the relegation play-off spot now, so making sure that one remains within reach might be OK in the worst case as well.
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This is purely suspicion and hopefully is proven wrong as the season progresses, but I wonder how “intact” the team as a whole really is anymore at the moment. I.e. whether there aren’t too many different factions with different interests who make it impossible to form a working team again no matter who the coach is. Some players may have been pro and some may have been critical of Favre and they now no longer get along. Some possibly only think about the club they’ll transfer to in the summer and have 0 connection to the club and just don’t want to risk picking up a serious injury until then etc.
Posted from
Germany -
That should have been a handball at the end of the match Thursday. Oh well. Anyway, does everyone think we should just dump our remaining Europa matches to try to rest up for the weekends? Seems like the best thing to do. Also, Grafite won’t be in Berlin on Sunday since the champions have given him a “vacation.” Can this possibly fire up our squad since Wolfsburg figures they don’t need him to play us? I can only hope.
Posted from
United States -
I had the pleasure to be there in Nuremberg, freezing my butt off and watching that fiasco. For the first time EVER I considered leaving a stadium and going home before the final whistle was blown. I mean, even the Harlekins stopped supporting and our capo stepped off the chair. WTF?! It was totally horrible. But – I have this t-shirt which has IN GUTEN WIE IN SCHLECHTEN ZEITEN written on it, and I will stick to that, although I seriously don’t really feel like supporting anymore if the players don’t give anything back …
Posted from
United States
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