We have two new additions to announce here at Bavarian Football Works. I hope you don't mind me splitting these up into groups of two, that way you don't have one very long post welcoming all new people at one time.
First, I'd like to welcome grudnik.
Servus, Bayern fans! My name is George Rudnik, and some of you know me as grudnik. I am very excited and honored to be joining the BFW staff, and look forward to writing about whatever the editors throw my way.
I was born in Munich, Germany, in the mid 1960s (yes, I will be doubling the average age of BFW contributors), where I started playing football as soon as I could walk, and lived there until I left for college. Even though TSV 1860 München was the predominant club in the Bavarian capital at the time of my birth (and my mother was a fan), I was fortunate to land smack dab in the middle of the Golden Era of FC Bayern, in the glorious years of Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeneß, and, my all-time favorite, the greatest pure goal scorer in the history of the sport, Gerd Müller. By the time I started following the Bundesliga, there really was only one choice. Following the German national team was inevitable, considering all the Bayern stars that have typically made up the backbone of the team, especially for the 1974 World Cup triumph, which was played out in Munich's Olympiastadion. To this day, I still support Germany over the US, even though I am a US citizen, because childhood ties are hard to break.
I went to college in upstate New York (where I picked up allegiances to the NY Giants and NY Yankees), and currently reside in Dallas, TX (which accounts for my love of the Dallas Stars, who moved here the same year as me), where I live with my wife and two kids. The wife is a lost cause, but I'm trying my best to instill a love of football in my two munchkins.
However, I live and breathe FC Bayern München, and constantly scour the online media for tidbits of information about the club. My wife sleeps in late on the weekends, so I am usually free to plop myself in front of the TV on Saturday mornings, and enjoy watching my team play, despite the horrendous SD resolution (I can't wait for next season, when hopefully Fox will rock the BL broadcasts in glorious HD).
I look forward to posting here and interacting with everyone, and hope you enjoy what I have to contribute.
Another one of our new writers is NoVaBurgher!
Hello BFW!
My name is Mike, and I am very excited to be a part of the staff here at Bavarian Football Works. I'm 28 years old. I live in the Washington D.C area (NoVa = Northern Virginia), and I work the night shift as a police officer. I grew up in many different cities, so my sports allegiances are a little all over the map (pretty much Pittsburgh and Portland, OR, and of course, Munich).
So, what made me a Bayern Munich fan? Well, a few reasons... One, my parents both speak fluent German as my mom's side of the family is from Bavaria, and my parents actually met while studying abroad in Munich. One of the places we lived when I was growing up was Switzerland, and because my German wasn't very good (still isn't...), the only television programs I could watch and actually understand what was going on were the Bayern Munich games. Once I started reading about the history of the club and actually being able to appreciate the tactics and skill of the German game, I was hooked.
Outside of Soccer, I am a big Baseball (go Pirates) and Rugby (go Leinster) enthusiast. Like I said, I'm very excited to be part of the staff, and I look forward to many vigorous debates as the season progresses.
Prost!
Mike (NoVaBurgher)
Welcome! We'll have two more later this week!