Farewell Andreas - R.I.P.
With the season over and with my birthday a few weeks ago, I havent been checking the Lila Kanal or reading my mails recently. So when i finally did I got a terrible shock to find that one of our fans has sadly died after a battle with illness: Andreas Plumhof, also known as Andi. With my relatively short career as a TeBe Fan I really cannot do the man justice in describing the work he did for the club. He was really involved at the club at many levels, even more than i ever knew. I guess that says a lot about what a modest down to earth person he was.
Giving out the programmes on the steps with Felix he was of course one of the first fans I got to know and remained one of the best. Our only common interest was probably Tennis Borussia and what a source of information he was and what a passionate fan. He always made a point of greeting everyone, asking how they were doing and saying hello. Never too much trouble to explain to newer fans about the players, filling in those holes in our knowledge with his vast database of infos - in fact i think he loved it. His involvement in the club and his down to earth nature didnt stop him voicing his opinion and his criticism, far from it he was really the stereotype of the dedicated follower. Always there in Block E, supporting the team, scorning any sign of a lack of commitment from the players and flipping out with the rest of us when the goals went in. Whenever we are excited and write on this blog, whenever we are too pissed off to post anything, these emotions are just a fraction of the feeling that you get in Block E behind the fence all together and Hancot and myself experienced almost all these feelings with him there.
As Jim wrote on Lila Kanal, Andi was one of those who symbolised the club and its fans: Dedicated and passionate, open, friendly and tolerant. He will be sorely missed by us all.
This morning was the funeral and here are a few pictures taken by Bungle.
Depite playing poker and drinking a few beers in to the early and then later hours of the morning, I got up this morning at 7 to get ready for the funeral. An early start for the funeral service was to start at 9, an early kick off as it were. It was only when I was deciding what to wear that i started feeling reluctant about the whole thing. Should I wear my suit? It is a formal occasion with family and friends after all. But then Andi knew me from TeBe and so perhaps I should wear something that suited that?
And then I realised that I didnt want to go to the funeral. I hope that nobody takes this as an insult, it certainly isnt meant that way. I just felt that I would prefer to remember him in my own way and how i remember him - This for me has to be at TeBe. Thats where i knew him and thats what I associate him with. So I will remember him at the next home match that I am here for at the end of August. I hope that people gave Andi a good send off at the funeral but its a personal thing and this I think is the most fitting way for me to pay my respects.
Giving out the programmes on the steps with Felix he was of course one of the first fans I got to know and remained one of the best. Our only common interest was probably Tennis Borussia and what a source of information he was and what a passionate fan. He always made a point of greeting everyone, asking how they were doing and saying hello. Never too much trouble to explain to newer fans about the players, filling in those holes in our knowledge with his vast database of infos - in fact i think he loved it. His involvement in the club and his down to earth nature didnt stop him voicing his opinion and his criticism, far from it he was really the stereotype of the dedicated follower. Always there in Block E, supporting the team, scorning any sign of a lack of commitment from the players and flipping out with the rest of us when the goals went in. Whenever we are excited and write on this blog, whenever we are too pissed off to post anything, these emotions are just a fraction of the feeling that you get in Block E behind the fence all together and Hancot and myself experienced almost all these feelings with him there.
As Jim wrote on Lila Kanal, Andi was one of those who symbolised the club and its fans: Dedicated and passionate, open, friendly and tolerant. He will be sorely missed by us all.
This morning was the funeral and here are a few pictures taken by Bungle.
Depite playing poker and drinking a few beers in to the early and then later hours of the morning, I got up this morning at 7 to get ready for the funeral. An early start for the funeral service was to start at 9, an early kick off as it were. It was only when I was deciding what to wear that i started feeling reluctant about the whole thing. Should I wear my suit? It is a formal occasion with family and friends after all. But then Andi knew me from TeBe and so perhaps I should wear something that suited that?
And then I realised that I didnt want to go to the funeral. I hope that nobody takes this as an insult, it certainly isnt meant that way. I just felt that I would prefer to remember him in my own way and how i remember him - This for me has to be at TeBe. Thats where i knew him and thats what I associate him with. So I will remember him at the next home match that I am here for at the end of August. I hope that people gave Andi a good send off at the funeral but its a personal thing and this I think is the most fitting way for me to pay my respects.
posted by Andy @ 10:06 PM
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