“The beer in North has already run out,” I text Thijs de Jong, presenter of Radio Milko, around the 80th minute. “And that in such a shitty match,” he replies. Shit competition? It is one of the most beautiful pots in years.
Thijs and I had a discussion in Radio Milko (podcast about the FC) about beer consumption in the North Stand. The beer was already gone during the first game of the season. The entire tank, which can hold 11,000 liters of beer, is empty to the last drop. That wasn’t possible, Thijs thought. He received approval. The tank was not full. Later I heard that it was almost full. Doesn’t matter either.
But hence the app conversation, which above all made it clear that the difference in experience between sitting neutrally on the couch at home and being absorbed in the collective hysteria in the North Stand is enormous. The match was terrible, but football is more than the game image. Much more. The quarter-final of the cup tournament between FC Groningen and Fortuna Sittard proved this.
The club’s love was provoked to the extreme
I used to be sent home around noon on match days. The tension turned me into an unruly bouncing ball that only kept other people from working. Impossible. Yesterday I was overcome by that feeling for the first time in years. There was something at stake: the semi-final of the cup.
This in one of the most difficult periods in club history. Relegation, unrest at the top of the club, riots in the stands, far too expensive mistakes, blunders in and with the media and loss after loss after loss, the supporters had to put up with for seasons on end. The club’s love runs deep, but was challenged and tested to the limit.
Farmers who never give up!
All those pent-up frustrations, sadness, tears and anger about the demise of the club came out yesterday. There was singing, dancing, shouting and hosting like there would be no tomorrow. Not only because of the fanatical North Stand, but from about the 70th minute onwards almost everyone in the stadium was cheering and singing.
Farmers never give up, we are Groningen and a real farmer will always keep jumping. All the classics passed by and were deployed en masse precisely at times when the team was having difficulty. The interaction between audience and players has not been this good in years. What an atmosphere. What an experience. What a passion. What a racket.
The whole match. Even more towards the end. And especially during extra time and penalties. Icy silences of great tension alternated with euphoric moments of crazy ecstasy. The relief from Fortuna’s decisive miss was indescribable. Big men who fall into each other’s arms, crying with happiness and stare around in disbelief. Complete strangers hugging each other to pieces. Screaming in hoarse voices until only a high-pitched squeak remains.
And that is not just because of the supporters, who have been firmly behind the club this entire season.
Finally, after all those bad years
The concept of the game and especially the players contribute to this. That doesn’t even have to be frivolous, as yesterday proved. Roll up your sleeves, run for every ball, fight for every duel and persevere. Up to the hole and even deeper. Farmers never give up. That made the difference yesterday. The adult football players of Fortuna fell down in droves and were no match for the fitness and eagerness of the young does from Stad and Ommeland.
So much content. So much power. So much intransigence. So much team spirit. You can only bring that if you care about this club. When green-white flows through the veins. And the FC is in your DNA. And that’s exactly what made this match a great game. With Postema, Valente, Van Bergen, Schreuders, Bacuna, Blokzijl, the supporters are on the field and in the stands.
Audience and gladiators have become one. One runs his lungs out on the field for Stad en Ommeland. The other screams his lungs out in the stands for Groningen. Pour the match tension sauce over it and you will have a football fight you will never forget. Perhaps not for the neutral viewer at home, but certainly for everyone who breathes FC Groningen. This was an evening for the books and it was about time after all the bad years. Forza FCG.
Still, a critical note
Oh yeah. Another small point of criticism. Can someone with catering experience take a good look at the points of sale in the North Stand? They work so incredibly hard and slowly there that it must save the club tons of money every year. That could be so much better. For example, prepare loads of beer and soft drinks just before the busy times.
But no. Just buy one at the busiest time, quietly go to the back, open the bottle of 7up, fill the cup, close the bottle again and back, turn around to the line and hand over the soft drink. In the meantime, we have some chats with colleagues, who despite all the hustle and bustle have plenty of time to joke, gag and gawk. Aaaaargh. How does it become?
Takes way too long. The same applies to tapping beer. Use of those large mechanical beer tap machines that festivals also use. You can tap many more beers in a short time and tadaaaaa: fewer lines, fewer staff needed, more turnover, more satisfied supporters. It’s not all that complicated.