When the Bundesliga starts on Friday, it is also a story of alcohol consumption. When nothing else helps, football fans hold on to their mugs. According to the motto “kick-off, kick-off, kick-off”, people drink before, during and after the game.
However, caution is advised at VfB Stuttgart. The Swabians have the toughest door in the Bundesliga when it comes to alcohol limits. Research by ZDF has shown that even with a blood alcohol level of 1.0 per mille, which is ridiculous by Bavarian standards, you are no longer allowed into the Swabian stadium. No first division club is stricter. These Swabians! This is met with head-shaking from their neighbors in the white and blue Free State, whose then Prime Minister Günther Beckstein still thought it was acceptable to drive a car after consuming two liters of beer. You just have to know when and how: “If you drink two liters of beer in six or seven hours at the Oktoberfest, it’s still possible.”
At 1. FC Nuremberg, 0.8 per mille is the limit
It is all the more surprising that the biggest killjoy can be found in Franconia, Beckstein’s homeland: 1. FC Nuremberg in the second division has a blood alcohol limit of 0.8. Science has shown that the following symptoms occur at a blood alcohol level of between 0.8 and 1.2: significant balance problems, significant disinhibition, and the onset of motor impairments. The ideal conditions, then, for considering the performances shown by the club in most seasons to be actually quite OK. Those who do complain do so in a slurred manner.
It is also strict at 1. FC Köln, Gladbach, Leipzig and Freiburg, where the limit is 1.1 per mille. In Hoffenheim the limit is 1.2 per mille, while in Frankfurt, Bochum and second division Schalke the only risk of exclusion is a high value of 1.6 per mille (effects: severely impaired motor skills, significantly slowed reaction time, pronounced balance problems). At all other first division clubs it is up to the security staff to decide when the fun is over.
Scoffers would say: It is precisely these effects of alcohol – confusion, euphoria, limited field of vision – that are often the last chance to make the performances on the pitch somewhat bearable. The discontent is accordingly great in some fan forums. There, people are wondering whether the 1.2 per mille in Hoffenheim is actually the minimum value without which you cannot enter the stadium. If that is too harsh for you, the only option is to join the amateur league. In a place where the teams still have names like FC Saufhemden, FC Biercelona or FC Kopinnacken, there will never be a per mille limit.
-
Florian Eisele Icon check mark in circle Icon plus in circle
-
Alcohol Icon Check Mark in Circle Icon Plus in Circle
-
Bavarian Swabia Icon Check mark in circle Icon Plus in circle
