Posted on March 7, 2010 – 19:18 in Features | Steven
FC St. Pauli
Photo by Benne Ochs from the current St. Pauli Merchandising Catalogue
So what happened next?
By the early 90s, this hard-core part of the fan base, just like the neighbourhood itself, had attracted a lot of other types of people to the club. All of a sudden you had regular St. Pauli parties, fanzines, clubs and so forth. It is really at this point of time where an almost equal amount of fans were coming to the club who were no longer part of the anarchist black block but were those who were attracted to the image of it, and subsequently turned it into something else, not that that is or was negative. The party scene had really started to kick off around the area also to the extent that the games were referred to as a party. Additionally, the biggest St.Pauli fanzine at the time “Millerntor-Roar” had a midsection in which games were discussed prior to kick-off, and even that was referred to as “party”.
This really was the breeding ground that resulted in what you see today in the Schanzen- and Karoviertel of St.Pauli: (Editors note: these are parts of St. Pauli technically but rather than focusing on prostitution are all about retailers, bars, galleries and so forth ) a colourful mixture of punks, musicians, hustlers and whores, retailers, clubs and bars and independent artists and designers. Also, and you do have to mention this, businesses moved in- advertising agencies and so forth and they obviously left and still leave their mark on the club and the neighbourhood.
The club then developed parallel to this change in the neighbourhood, the radical elements became smaller, and the club became a little fancier. Different to many other football clubs, St. Pauli always attracted a relatively large female fan base, which, independently from any male influence, came on their own accord and were part of the active fan scene. Subsequently, everything that is now changing for the worse in the neighbourhood, I only have to mention words like gentrification and so forth are also happening to the club. Really, today, the club and its games have become and event, in a way, St.Pauli is like the Bayern Münich of the alternative scene.
13 comments for “FC St. Pauli”
Excellent feature!
written by Llywarch on 11. Mar, 2010
Very nice!
written by Hodja on 11. Mar, 2010
Wow, great review on the hood and club i hate to love love to live in! Thanks!
written by Earl Harbor on 12. Mar, 2010
magnificent club with best fans ever seen !
written by jan west on 16. May, 2010