Bayern Munich: Coming to an America Near You?

One of the most frustrating things about being a Bayern Munich fan in the United States is the team store. Ok, fine, the most irritating thing is that they aren't televised in English in more then a few million homes and then you have to happen to live in a place where trees don't exist and you can get a satellite television signal. Or not in an apartment. Or not in a house where your local home owner's group is allowed to stone your satellite dish and fine you $800 when you put up a shed without a slanted roof. You get the idea. However, the store fits so much better with the narrative I'm intentionally ramming down your throats so I'm going to continue in that vein.

You can peruse the online team store to your hearts desire, but unless you're willing to fork over the €40 shipping fee and still wait 3 weeks, your chances of getting any of the truly wonderful Bayern Munich gear are generally squat. You're relegated to the second tier of generic t-shirts, hoodies, and replica jerseys. I'm not bitter. I just want my Bayern Munich dog bowl. And a scarf.  And an authentic Xherdan Shaqiri Champions League jersey. And a pair of Bavarian lederhosen emblazoned with the Bayern Munich logo that I can wear around downtown Seattle just so I can be "that guy".

Much to my happiness along comes Grant Wahl with some fantastic rumors/tidbits/news(?). Take it away, Grant:

Bayern Munich is looking to make inroads in America, and that involves a couple different initiatives, sources at Bayern tell me.

Woooooooooooooo!. Pardon me, I'm now going to run around blowing a vuvuzela  to celebrate.

But wait, there's more

One is the establishment of a Bayern office in New York City that’s soon to open, and another is the likely participation of Bayern in the MLS All-Star Game next year. That game would be in Portland, Ore., the U.S. home of Adidas, which sponsors Bayern and MLS.

Woooooooooooooo! Pardon me,  but I can't tell you what I'm going to do next. But it does involve a vuvuzela, athletic exercise, and a shirt being twirled around like a helicopter. If Phil was still in North Carolina, he could do it to and pretend he's in a Petey Pablo song.

The establishment of a Bayern Munich office would be huge, especially given the deal the Bundesliga just signed with Fox putting their product into most homes in America. Furthermore, it's a typical precursor step to bringing a stateside store and for anyone who follows Scott on Twitter knows, one step closer to him becoming a hoarder specializing in Bayern Munich gear.

The biggest news is that Bayern Munich may be the 2014 MLS All-Star game opponent. While anyone who watched the 2013 MLS All-Star game and saw the stupendous thrashing AS Roma laid on the MLS-best-masquerading-as-a-team would know that it's basically little more than an exhibition. It's also a huge event that could be an exciting opportunity to re-introduce and remind the US market of Bayern Munich. While the event is still up in the air and nothing is for certain; what I can say is that if this does happen, the Bavarian Football Works first round of drinks in Portland is not on me. I'm not made of money. But I'll gladly sit down with any of you over a pint.