Today: Rebecca, 5 years old
10. April 1999, Hertha BSC - VfB Stuttgart 2:0
Olympiastadion Berlin
"Family-damaged". That's how Rebecca describes how she got into soccer and Hertha as a little girl. Her father was "only" the sports and internationals type, and her grandfather took a more statistical approach, keeping note of all the Bundesliga results in notebooks, but her two uncles had been fanatical Hertha fans since childhood. And since they also had season tickets, they eventually took Rebecca with them to the far reaches of the Olympiastadion.
On April 10, 1999, to be exact. The illustrated moment also comes from that day. So Rebecca celebrated her premiere in the season when the old lady qualified for the Champions League - there are worse entrants! The opponent was VfB, who were sent home again with 2:0. Rebecca has no concrete memories of the game, only that "it was very loud," which she also recorded in her first of many Hertha photo books. (The apple doesn't fall far from the tree: Rebecca works today - not at all surprisingly, we think - at the Federal Archive).
She must have suppressed Michael Preetz's missed penalty in her first game in childish wisdom: The "blatantly impressive" striker was later to become her favorite player alongside Darius Wosz. Her first jersey in the 2000/2001 season was of course also flocked with the name of the goal scorer.
After more than ten years of occasionally going to the stadium with her crazy uncles, she was given her own season ticket at the age of 15 for the 2010/2011 second division season, which she used to sit with the family for a few more years. But when she met a like-minded girl on Tumblr in 2013 who was also a Hertha fan, things took their course: not only is this girl one of her closest friends to this day, she also went to the Ostkurve with her in 2015/16. And she is, of course, a loyal companion when Rebecca is awake for 28 hours at a stretch, like on an away trip to Dortmund.
Despite some low blows over the years, including a traumatic relegation against Fortuna Düsseldorf, Rebecca celebrates the atmosphere in the standing room in the Ostkurve, but also enjoys the relaxed atmosphere with the amateurs - and is still a member and DK holder today. Ha, ho, congratulations.