After consideration, I decided that there will not be a live blog for the Champions League final. There were a couple practical considerations that came into play here–first, in any match I live blog, I have much less “eyeballs on the match” time than I normally would. But secondly, I’m going to taking part in a major public showing of the match (more on that below).
A post in the comment section earlier this week from reader Jacob in Phoenix made me reflect: if there’s any time to step away from the computer and hang out together with like-minded fans, this coming Saturday is it. Sure, I could list a bunch of bars in major cities that might have a good atmosphere for our kind of football–but the fact is, I don’t really feel like giving free advertising to a bunch of places I’ve never been.
To that end, I would like this page to serve as a connecting point for Bayern fans wherever they may be. If you’re Deutsch and will be in the U.S., you can use this post to find a good spot to watch. Don’t want to be cooped up in your basement alone for the final? We’ll try to connect you with someone in your area that would like to meet up.
You’ll find “CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL MEET-UP BOARD in the category list on the right hand side pane of the blog for easy access. As future posts go up, and this one works its way off the main page, all you’ll need to do is click on those big capital letters to get to this post. I’ll be linking to it frequently too. Here are some handy tips for making this work better:
1)The comment section for this post should really be limited to: a) Inquiring for fans in a geographic area about where to see the final or meeting up for the final or b) Recommending a public place in your local area that you frequent for matches. We don’t want it to get clogged up with transfer talk, etc.
2) You probably don’t want to broadcast your email address for everyone (including potential spammers) on the comment board–but I see all the email addresses of commenters in my console. Please submit your comment with an email address you’ll be comfortable sharing with a fellow fan. That way, I can connect the parties by sharing their emails with each other. So for instance, if someone posts “Anyone want to meet in Philly to watch the final?” and someone answers “Yeah I’d be interested”, I’ll send out an email to both posters with the other’s email address. It’s fine if folks want to actually hash out their plans in the comments, but it might get a bit complicated to read. So once again: If you post an inquiry or a response to an inquiry, I am going to assume you are ok with having the email you post with shared with the inquirer or the responder. If you’re unsure about any of that, feel free to email me at the address in the side pane, bayern [at] theoffside [dot] com
One place that I can recommend is the place I will be for the final: The DANK-Haus German Cultural Center in Chicago. The 2nd floor Brandenburg Room will show the match on a huge projection screen, Spaten will be on tap, and it will be a decidedly Bayern crowd of perhaps a couple hundred. If you’re in the area, we’d love to see you there.
Bayern Offside headquarters for the Champions League final
And if you’re further afield–let’s get busy uniting for what promises to be a memorable moment in the history of our club.