My Story with FC St. Pauli

From Plymouth To Hamburg

It's fairly uncommon to find a lot of St. Pauli fans in rural Devon. One of the United Kingdom's largest counties, the rolling hills of Devon aren't exactly flowering with the finest quality of football. I followed my Dad as a young lad to a 'local' club called Plymouth Argyle, only the 2 hour drive from a small town where we lived. Over the years it became commonplace to find myself with two hands of the finest Cornish Pasty and a less than comfortable plastic seat in the family section of Home Park. Eventually as many will relate to, my small group of friends would travel on the train every now-and-then to home games. We made a day of it, lucky if we had seen a goal or two and even luckier if they went Argyle's way. However, when the realisation hit us that at the age of 18 years young we were now having to pay an wallet-emptying £20 ticket plus travel and other expenses to watch our beloved team play, I personally felt slightly cheated. It wasn't a dislike towards the club, and certainly not a lost love, but more a disappointment. We were playing fourth tier football, on the cusp of losing everything. It was the all so familiar heartache that far too many football fans had felt, from the furthest south to the seemingly so distant North, the absence of money throughout the club. I had collected match tickets where I used to (and still do to this day) scribble down on the back both the score and goalscorers of that game, if there was one. Those tickets for a few months became non-existent due to the club not having enough money to print them. Fortunately, my club averted the crises and eventually escaped a near collapse. They weren't dark times for me, but a real eye opener to the harsh reality of financial struggles within the 'beautiful game'.

I will never stop loving my Argyle, but going back to the expense of physically supporting the club, it wasn't easy for me, I was a young lad, without a job. Even when I found myself luckily earning, I bitterly couldn't approve of the costs. A lot of people would say that if I really supported my club, I'd be there. Many of my friends travel as far as Ipswich to see their team and I truly applaud them for the commitment to their own club. It became hard to justify spending at least £40-50 as well as the relentlessly poor train service courtesy of First Great Western. Enjoying the memories was all I was receiving in return. Goals, quality on the pitch and a cup of tea for under £2.50 were all becoming scarce at Home Park.

Personally, I cant really specifically say how, where or when St. Pauli became a part of my life. I do remember slouching on my bed engrossed in discovering the warmth that St. Pauli fans and members of the club shown whilst watching a documentary on Youtube. Shortly it became evident to me that at the Hamburg club there was more than just a game being played. The communal spirit, hardcore fans and notably positive support was evident in the hours of supporter footage and blogs I had discovered online. It was such an intriguing club, one with such authentic history involving a complete escape from the dark days of the sport. As I became aware of the anti-establishment movement and punk ethos which the club had embraced it drawn me closer and closer. I was raised on the likes of The Sex Pistols and always appreciated the 'different'. Now in my early 20's current affairs are now becoming rapidly more relevant in my life and it amazes me how only a few clubs have seriously erased discrimination, corruption and allowing their franchise to be abused by investors. St. Pauli has a wide following in the UK and with links in particular to the Celtic fan-base, I found myself connecting with fans of which some, like me have never been to the Millerntor Stadion or even Hamburg, but that was almost besides the point as to me as the distance between the cold, miserable England and the cold, less-miserable Germany meant nothing.

My affiliation with St. Pauli is seemingly minuscule in comparison to a lot of the hearty supporters who have set up their own fan-bases here in the U.K. With groups such as the great Yorkshire St. Pauli who have such a unique community, setting up regular charity fund raisers for the less fortunate and in general embracing the solidarity of the club. Derby St. Pauli are another fantastic set of supporters as well who are more than happy to embrace diversity, share memories and celebrate as a collective. There are many more of these not only in the U.K but in Spain, North America and Argentina. This club is growing, and the football world knows it.