Alright, will try to comment a bit on the Bundesliga Fanatic article.
I scanned the page briefly to see who the persons writing actually are, and it seems to be some mix of people from the UK and the US.
While it appears that the people from the UK are actually travelling over every now and then, I am not sure about the US guys, but based on the article I don´t get the impression that their views are "in depth" at all.
Not blaming anyone as it is pretty obvious you can´t fly over from the US all the time and have access to the information people in Germany have who are going to matches on a regular basis.
In the article it is mentioned that fans over here are treated much better than in the UK, cost for the police is much higher in the UK because fans are always seen as troublemakers etc.
Funny enough that there was recently a big discussion in Germany about the exact same issue which borderlined into hysterics as the media was picking on a couple of special events like the relegation playoff between Hertha and Fortuna Düsseldorf where the pitch was invaded before the match was over etc.
At the moment the media has the tendancy to big every single flare lit at a game up to a full blown riot. While I do think that flares add to the atmosphere at games I am fully aware that they are dangerous, especially in the hands of some drunken/drugged twat. However everytime something like this happens the media makes it look as if a fucking war broke out on the terraces and hundreds of people got injured, while in fact in 99% of the cases nothing happens.
This lead to a lot of discussions and put the Ultra groups in the focus as they are usually portrayed as the bad guys causing all those incidents etc. Soon some politicians and police representatives popped up and showed some weird statistics how "dangerous" it has become to go to football games in Germany due to the Ultras running riot etc.
Those statistics were complete bullshit as they factored all kind of incidents in. So if you climbed the stairs in the ground, slipped and broke your leg it is registered as an incident and reflected in said statistics.
In addition to that the point was raised that the cost for policing at games has significantly increased due to fans beeing more aggressive etc. Now if you are a regular at football games over here you sometimes ask yourself why exactly is is required to have 50 cops in full riot gear "guard" 20 away fans on their way to the ground?
I can understand that at derbies the police presence has to be high to keep everything under control, but for some random football game between clubs who have no special connection?
Again and again concerns by fan representatives were raised that thos kind of police presence doesn´t help at all to calm down situations and instead the police provokes fans and in general they are very quick with using pepper spray and the likes.
Once you have been surrounded/trapped by the police for hours without beeing able to go to the toilet or not allowed to get something to drink even though its mid summer and 30 degree outside you might understand how fans become aggressive as soon as they see the police.
I have been picked up by the police myself when I was waiting for friends at the ground in Offenbach and was obviously wearing the wrong clothes (sneakers, jeans and a hoodie). But I agree....hoodie gave me away as a rampaging hooligan......Alternative would have been to wear my club´s colours and get beaten to shit by the Offenbach fans (Frankfurt and Offenbach is a derby and we hate each other with a passion).
So I highly doubt that the police thingy the author raises is a valid point. Yes we might have more freedom than you guys at the actual ground but I doubt its any better outside the grounds. Might even be worse due to the hysteria the media has raised.
In addition to that the author mentions the bad reputation of fans and how everyone is seen as a potential criminal rather than a supporter.
Is this really any different over here? As mentioned above the Ultras are usually portrayed as the bad guys and there definitely are a ton of idiots amongst them. But thats the case everywhere and a 16 year old holding a flare is as much of a twat as the 45 year of father of two who shows up completely intoxicated to games and abuses other fans/players while his kids sit with him.
The media and the DFB however has the tendancy to have double standards towards the Ultras. On one hand they get blamed for everything, but on the other hand they are used as a tool to promote the Bundesliga as well.
The Ultras coordinate the majority of the singing, travel to every match and come up with breathtaking displays on the terraces.
You can see all this kind of stuff on TV when the Bundesliga advertises their products and for that purpose alone the fans are obviously good enough.
The atmosphere lures people to football matches...its NOT just the football, but the whole matchday experience which includes the singing, beer, hanging out with mates etc. Why do you think people from the UK are travelling over for Bundesliga matches?
The standard of football is most likely higher in the PL, but the matchday experience is a blast from the past hence people travel over to Germany.
As mentioned above not everything about the Ultras is perfect and some stuff really needs to be sorted out, however what the people/media in Germany doesnt realize is that there is not just the matchday experience that the Ultras create.
The Ultra lifestyle is not a weekend/matchday thing. Almost all the bigger groups have their own club houses were they meet during the week, to work on new displays/flags etc. or just hang out. They give young people a chance to get off the street, hang out with friends and focus their energy on something productive as well.
Media is always quick to report about incidents, but they never ever mention that a lot of groups do charity work, collect money by selling their own merchandise and then donate this money to kid´s hospitals etc.
Ultra´s St. Pauli for example buy season tickets which they hand out to immigrants so those people have a chance to see football. There are other groups doing similar work, however it never gets mentioned in the media.
But I guess its easier to paint the picture of the aggressive teenage male who has nothing better to do than beating other fans up.
One of the biggest problems in German football is the increasing popularity since we had the WC 2006. Ever since everyone all of a sudden seems to be interested in football and as the author of the Bundesliga Fanatic article mentioned the demographics are changing and there are A LOT more woman/families going to games these days.
While the popularity is not necessarily a bad thing as it keeps grounds filled it becomes a problem when those "new" fans are more customers/consumers than actual fans.
I am always amazed at how stupid thos new generation of fans is...just to give you an example: We see a lot more girls at games...fine, no problem with that. However I do have a problem if my club comes up with "girls" merchandise like scarves in pink and white.
What the hell is wrong with you?
My clubs colours are red/white/black! If you want to show your support for the team wear those fucking colours or go the fuck out with your pink and white shit!
The problem is that this stuff is bought by "fans" without even thinking about it....Same with the team kits. I think I bought my last kit a good 20 years ago because I am not willing to pay 80 Euro for a piece of cloth that is manufactured somewhere in Bangladesh for 2 Euros and is supposed to cost more in Germany just because it has a nike sign on it.
Those fans will just throw their money at everything the club offers them, will just pay whatever the club is asking them for tickets etc. Its this whole consumer mentality that is pissing me off.
If I am supposed to pay 30 Euro for a standing ticket at an away match I am not going to buy it simple as that. Football is supposed to be affordable for everyone and I personally don´t want to end up in a situation like in the PL where those people who made football big are slowly priced out of the grounds.
People need to make a stand against this kind of stuff, but unfortunately for every 1 critical and thinking football fan there are 5 consumers who just care about success and beeing "hip".
The direction we are heading to in Germany is worrying me a lot and I bet in a couple of years from now we will have reached the level of the PL in terms of atmoshphere/cost.
But I guess that the price of popularity...
Disclaimer: No, I am not an Ultra, never was and never will be! ;)