Nervous?

It's like hearing a clock ticking everywhere you go. An ominous countdown no true Borusse could ever forgo. What is this phenomenon always keeps us pacing with angst in the night? Dearest friends, it's Derby time!

It will always be the most important match of the year. From the day FC Scheiße died, to coming back from the death a year later, to Kevin and the boys climbing the Süd; home against blue scum never fails to entertain.

I was recently taken aback whilst watching the most recent Clasico. No, it wasn't Messi's stunning free kick; nor Ronaldo's cool finishes. It was the lack of volume. This game gets the anticipation ten Revierderby's packed into one could never garner, yet the stadium was virtually silent. Ahh forgive me, when Barcelona wasn't playing up to par in the first half their fans started whistling. This goes to show that it isn't the media hype or quality of play that makes a derby so unique, it is the passion of the supporters. Whether they are in the stadium or not.

On February 13th of this year, there was an article published in the German schwatzgelb.de titled Aufwachen Westfalenstadion, which criticized a sleepy atmosphere at the Westfalen temple. Following the article, 23,000 fans travelled to Berlin and created absolutely stunning levels of noise. Although the atmosphere of past couple games has been top class, the iron city goes to sleep with the international break. When it awakens, the most intimidating wall of noise shall erupt from the Südtribüne. After all as the Unity famously put it last spring, it is the "Westfalenstadion Roar" that literally screams the ball into the back of the net. We don't need to hang up a pathetic banner asking if the opponent is nervous, we shove the emotion down blue scum's throats.

Zeno Stone is a Dortmund supporter from America currently living in Dubai.

Guest authors express only their own opinion which must not necessarily correspond to the view of the editors of schwatzgelb.com

Zeno, 17.10.2012

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