Meet the Bayern Munich fan club in Charlotte

Bayern Munich are in the middle of the Audi Summer Tour 2016 as they tour the United States of America. On the tour, Bayern are taking part in three games in the International Champions Cup. On Wednesday, Bayern drew AC Milan 3-3 before falling on penalties.

With the tour going on, we thought it would be a good idea to speak with three fan clubs in the cities where these matches would be held. We first spoke to Tyler Faivre of the Chicago Supporters of FC Bayern Munich. Today, we introduce Ryan Gibson of the Queen City Bavarians ahead of Bayern’s match in Charlotte against Inter Milan.

You might remember Ryan as the Bayern fan that got the club’s logo on his false eye.

How did the fan club start?

The Queen City Bavarians began when I wanted to get a group of FC Bayern Fans to watch games with. It started slow being that there was another group in town, but they never really had watch parties or anything. Once I started to promote, it has done nothing but grow and grow.

When did you become an official fan club?

We became official around January 2016, a week after I began pushing the club hard and having watch parties at the local EPL pub. Unofficially, we were around last summer.

How many members does the club currently have?

We currently stand at 56 members. I'm slowly adding them to the official roster. It's hard and time consuming to do when you enter them on your mobile. The summer tour stop here has drastically increased interest since we have many events across the city for the game in town. We are hosting or promoting.

Where is your regular meet-up location for Bayern Munich games?

Our regular spot is Courtyard Hooligans in Charlotte NC. They are amazing during the season they open early for all the early games and they allow us to have sound most times. It is also a great place for early games since the couple restaurants will deliver breakfast while you watch.

How did this become the spot?

If you are a soccer fan in Charlotte NC, you have to be at Hooligans. It is a landmark in this town. All the major clubs come here to watch matches. The Bavarians are going to make a statement this coming season.

Does the club have any pregame rituals?

Warrior Omelet from Valhalla or Carolina Dog at QCBC, they are a MUST on game day. Bayern has never lost when those are consumed on matchday. We have a few others, but we can't unveil those or we may lose the luster of the good luck.

What's the most popular song to sing while watching the games?

We sing Forever #1 or the Bayern Mirror chant. Really depends on which of the group attends. The more intense the game the better the atmosphere.

What's unique about the fan club in Charlotte? Why should Bayern fans in the area come out for a game?

One unique thing is my glass eye. We are the only club worldwide with a member that has a Bayern prosthetic eye. That actually has brought great attention to our group and has increased membership. Other then that we have a very diverse group, we have people of all walks of life that will give the shirt off there back to make sure you have a blast.

We always do everything we can to make you feel like apart of the Bayern family. Hooligans staff does the same. We don't see it as a club, community or anything like that. Here you are family. When a member is in need, we rally around them to help as we can be it a fundraiser for unexpected family or medical expenses to just to call and meet up when someone is bored and wants to hang out.

With our City named after Queen Charlotte wife of King George III. She was born in Mecklenburg, Germany. Mecklenburg is also the county which Charlotte is the center. We have a extremely large German population in this jewel of the south. So, if you want to witness FC Bayern in a laid back Southern way yet still in a major city, come on down to Courtyard Hooligans and look for the One Eyed Bavarian.

For the official list of events relating to the tour, go here.

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