Berlin – Alba Berlin had already assumed that the fans had said goodbye with the 92-84 win over Monaco. The polar bears had prepared to say goodbye to their own supporters on Boxing Day with the game against Bremerhaven, which was won 5-1, and the Füchse Berlin originally wanted to play again on Monday evening at 7:05 p.m. with the home game against the MT Melsungen play in front of spectators before they are largely excluded again a day later.
3000 fans outdoors, 2000 indoors
From December 28th, ghost games will again dominate professional sport in Germany. But: In addition to Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, Berlin makes an exception: 3000 spectators outdoors, i.e. at games by Hertha BSC and 1. FC Union Berlin, as well as 2000 spectators in closed rooms are still allowed to attend the games of the major professional clubs in the capital, such as the governing mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) announced after a Senate meeting shortly before Christmas. “We have decided to proceed in a measured manner, weighing up the risks and protective measures,” said Giffey. The aim is to maintain activities in culture, sport or business as far as possible, albeit under restricted conditions. “We have come to the conclusion that this is still better than a complete rejection.”
The BR Volleys welcomed the measures and are happy to be able to play in the top game against the powervolleys Düren on January 6th in front of spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle. The Bundesliga starts its second half of the season on January 7th. Alba Berlin, however, is expecting Würzburg for a duel in the Bundesliga on December 31 (2 p.m.) in the last game of the year and is allowed to let spectators into the arena at Ostbahnhof. The German basketball champions have to compete in Bayreuth on Monday, but the Euroleague game in Milan, which was supposed to take place on Wednesday, was canceled after several corona cases in the Milanese team.
Under the eyes of their fans, the Eisbären Berlin were able to play against Bremerhaven under the “old” Corona rules on Sunday in the arena at the Ostbahnhof. As in the previous games, only those spectators who had been vaccinated or recovered were allowed in on this Christmas afternoon – a mask also had to be worn on the seats, which was pointed out over the loudspeakers of the arena over and over again during the game. Even before the game, the polar bears had announced that a negative corona test would also be required from the next home game on January 2nd. Only under this condition was the further participation of spectators in the home games of the Berlin professional clubs approved by the Senate.
Anyone who was able to part with the delicacies of Christmas on Sunday and, despite all the rules, decided to attend the polar bear game against Bremerhaven, should have felt well entertained from the start. Both teams went to work with determination and concentration, but the first goal should not come until 16 seconds before the end of the first period, despite previous outnumbered situations on both sides. Matt White closed a fine pass from Frank Hördler with a direct shot through the legs of ex-polar bear keeper Maximilian Franzreb to make it 1-0 for Berlin.
It will only be exciting for a short time against Bremerhaven
A hit like this just before going into the dressing room is of course more psychologically valuable for the team that scores it than for the one that conceded it. And that is probably one of the reasons why the polar bears had a somewhat more decisive effect on the game, although the guests remained dangerous. The second goal from Berlin was good for calming the nerves of most of the spectators in the arena. From distance, Morgan Ellis had increased it to 2-0 with his shot into the corner in the 29th minute on a pass from Marcel Noebels.
The fact that it did get exciting again for a short time was due to a penalty conceded goal less than twelve minutes before the end, in which Eisbären goalie Mathias Niederberger had no chance against Ziga Jeglic’s shot. Just 62 seconds later, however, the two-goal gap was restored after another goal by Matt White. And when Marcel Noebels scored 4-1 just four minutes before the final whistle and White increased it to 5-1 (59th), the 2500 fans were finally happy. The fact that spectators are allowed to watch the Eisbären and other Berlin professional clubs beyond this game made for additional joy.