30/09/2025
Although nobody would begrudge our neighbours the deserved three points, the crushing home loss to Makkabi was a sad day. For anyone that holds to the founding vision of Tennis Borussia Berlin as a successful, competitive sports club, it became undeniable that TeBe isn’t even the best team on the tiny Eichkamp housing estate, let alone a giant of European football. Even some of the “whatever league, it doesn’t matter” dreamers voiced concern and frustration with the awful performance afterwards.
However, for one Lila Kanal user, the day was far worse than a sporting wake-up call. Hungry, he bought a sausage and was charged the wrong price. On returning to point out the mistake, the caterer gave him a free sausage. According to his story, sausagegate overshadowed the emphatic defeat on the pitch to a team many fans traditionally saw as their second or third club. And so, after consuming that extra free and tasty sausage, he returned home, dusted off the warrior keyboard, and bravely declared on the Internet never to buy a sausage at the Mommsenstadion again.
Whereas the wurst jokes write themselves for this tantrum, at the following match on Friday a large number of fans refused to buy beers or sausages as a protest - not just the usual eager activists, but most of Block E. This was backed by the fan representatives, announced by the otherwise sensible stadium speaker and aided with at least a room by the club itself. Fans called for fans to boycott the caterer, and offered them the chance to “break their fast” in the club’s VIP rooms an hour after the match. As always on such occasions, much back-slapping and self-praise was had - the wish for action and distraction often suspiciously negatively correlated to the level of football on the pitch.
The caterer in question is a lovely Peruvian-German family that took over the Casino after it was empty for a long time and renovated. They use the room for cultural events and, like most immigrant businesses, are run by a lot of helping hands. This is not a big faceless catering company, it is a charming bunch of Latinos following their dream. They aren’t trying to rip you off, just trying to make a living. Their staff can’t just be sacked by angry customer complaints, but are family and friends who make mistakes. They are genuinely nice people, who don’t seem to understand what the issue is.
And they weren’t alone in not knowing what the exact issue was. Perhaps the saddest part of the boycott was that afterwards around the VIP room it was impossible to find anyone that could come up with a sensible explanation of the problems, let alone a consistent idea for a solution. For the most part, it was a confusing series of rumours, hearsay, and second-hand stories on the scandal level of sausagegate above. One passionately boycotting fan had never experienced any of the previous caterers and didn’t seem to understand lease systems. Considering these people had remained sober until well after the final whistle, the usual alcohol excesses can’t explain this inability to make a coherent argument that could stand up to simple scrutiny, almost as if this was a case of ressentiments speaking.
Ten years ago there could have been an interesting discussion to be had about the symbolic zeitgeist nature of “boycotts” and “breaking the fast”, but Block E is no longer full of the brightest flares in the pyrotechnic shop. To be fair, one Lila Kanal user, albeit many days after, did distance themselves from the boycott as an action form, but that’s weeks after someone, anyone, should have thought of that. An active fan scene boycotting an immigrant family business for reasons that nobody can explain beyond a few rumours. It’s not a good look. If this had taken place at the Sport Forum or the Old Forestry, the outrage, accusations and piss-take from TeBe fans would deservedly be epic.
Nobody at DAWB thinks that our lovely purple white football community are suddenly a bunch of bigots, although it was also sad to see on Friday that “Come As You Are” seems to include wearing the keffiyeh in Block E. And nobody is claiming that the catering is always perfect. Far from it. But DAWB like our Peruvian amigos, chaotic and unorganised as they can be. Everybody can spend or not spend their money as they wish, but the target is just a small family business, a boycott completely over the top, and the council is responsible for the leasing of the Casino, which the family now hold rights to.
So, please, no more fast breaking or boycotts. This club and fan scene deserves better than becoming a third Babelsberg ultra block. At the end of the day, a Peruvian casino in the Mommsenstadion could grow to be a catering selling point for a low division club. Ultimately, more dialogue is what is needed. A good start would be “lo siento”.
Salud!
