What sports teams do you support?

[Arneb]

Barcelona CF 0 - 3 FC Bayern München

Those Bayern are just frightening. I mean, to win 3-0 at Nou Camp...My money is on them.

[Arneb]

BVB Borussia Dortmund 1 - 2 FC Bayern München

in the Final of the 2012/2013 Champions League, at Wembley.

I think it was a momentous final, which Bayern won by that extra splash of personal genius - it is quite ironic that of all players, it was Robben who shot them into heaven.

[Heid the Ba]

Missed the game completely.

In other news, Edinburgh beat Glasgow in the Boat Race, mens and womens.

[Lianachan]

I also missed it, and everything else, completely having retreated into the mountains from Friday morning until Sunday night.

[Arneb]

FC Bayern München 3 - 2 VfB Stuttgart

In the Final of the German Football Cup.

So, it's a Bayern triple crown. What did they sign up Guardiola for, again?

[Lianachan]

Too late to make any difference in terms of World Cup qualification, but a fantastic result for Scotland last night.
Croatia 0 - 1 Scotland

[Heid the Ba]

Le Mans weekend, I am away with the Mem to celebrate our wedding anniversary (28 years since you ask) so I'll probably only see 5-6 hours of it. Looks like being an AUDI -v- Toyota fight in the prototypes, with the usual Porsche, Aston Martin and Corvette stramash in the other categories. Hopefully Alan McNish (local lad from Dumfries) can stay shiny side up this year, he threw away a winning position last year with a risky overtake that went wrong and binned it in a massive way the year before in a similar fashion.

For the technically minded. TL:DR version, four wheel drive, diesel engine driving the rear wheels, electric drive for the front wheels with the power being reclaimed under braking.

[MM_Dandy]

The Miami Heat win again, beating out the Spurs in game 7 of the NBA Finals yesterday, and are now well on their way in their attempt to overtake the Yankees and Lakers as the most hated professional sports team in America.

[Arneb]

Oops? How come? I mean, I hate them because they are not the team Dirk Nowitzky is playing in, but why is the hatred univerasal, and why is it for the Yankees and the Lakers?

[Heid the Ba]

Gah! The hotel turns out to be some dodgy Third World enterprise that doesn't have Eurosport so I am reduced to online only. Bah! I don't get to watch Herr Doktor Ullrich stalking pitlane or any of the other peripheral hilarity.

[Heid the Ba]

A win for McNish (et al) at Le Mans, a last minute try for Scotland saw off Italy and England pissed away victory in the cricket. Not bad all round.

[MM_Dandy]

Oops? How come? I mean, I hate them because they are not the team Dirk Nowitzky is playing in, but why is the hatred univerasal, and why is it for the Yankees and the Lakers?

Well, part of it comes with the territory of being successful and sustaining that success (in the 90's, you either loved or hated Jordan and the Bulls, for example).There's also the matter of loved/hated personalities on the teams (LeBron for the Heat, Kobe for the Lakers, A-Rod and Jeter for the Yankees). Finally, while less so for the Heat, the Yankees and Lakers historically have been able to dump huge amounts of money into their rosters, which gives the impression of 'buying' championships and tends to build a sort of 99% vs 1% resentment among opposing fan bases.

[Arneb]

Ah. Exactly the reasons why I used to hate Bayern München with all my heart. Except, of course, that Bayern are an excellently managed football club with a fine nose for develeoping players, a hugely loyal fanbase and a lot of truly likeable mature players who justly deserve all the success they have. So...

[Heid the Ba]

In preseason news, Fürth beat Celtic.

In typography news, The Scotsman appears to have mislaid all their umlauts.

[Lianachan]

In typography news, The Scotsman appears to have mislaid all their umlauts.

In general news, and their marbles.

[Arneb]

In preseason news, Fürth beat Celtic.

Oh, we love that, don't we

As a supporter of the two clubs who got smashed out of the Bundesliga in three years out of the past four with, among them, the least number of victories, the longest stretches without home victory, least number of goals scored, etc., this is some form of consolation.

I assume you will treat with tact my tribulations for the coming Bundesliga season, where Hertha will, once again, be the relegation candidate no. I A 1 a aa alpha. Or even higher up the list.

[Heid the Ba]

I assume you will treat with tact my tribulations for the coming Bundesliga season, where Hertha will, once again, be the relegation candidate no. I A 1 a aa alpha. Or even higher up the list.

Hertha will muddle through, they always . . . er . . . maybe not.

We begin our quest to win the whatever the third teir of Scottish fitba' is called just now with a bunch of has beens, never weres and hopefully might bes. It should be enought though. We should take advice from Lianachan's lot who won it a few years ago.

[Arneb]

They'll love you just for the income Rangers generate as tourists and for the opportunity to play at Ibrox.

I'd really love to support a team that always muddles through, honestly. I am afraid, however, I am too old to change now. And Italy is out of the question anyway. I'll have to be content with eternal suffering and, for the occasional sinful pleasure, root for Bayern or Dortmund a bit when the opportunity arises.

[Lianachan]

Last season my lot were relegation candidate no. I A 1 a aa alpha, and yet we finished 5th. 5th! It's a funny old game, and all that, so don't despair too much.

(I think my lot will probably be starting out as relegation candidate no. I A 1 a aa alpha again next season, by the way)

[Heid the Ba]

I wasn't clear but "a bunch of has beens, never weres and hopefully might bes" was actually a description of our players, rather than the opposition. As you say the opposition love the money our fans bring, if not the fans, and the players get to play in fornt of 40,000 at Ibrox twice. I know that had Rangers not been in the same division as Dunfermline this season then Dunfermline might have been going under for good, instead of just in severe difficulty.

[Heid the Ba]

Last season my lot were relegation candidate no. I A 1 a aa alpha, and yet we finished 5th. 5th! It's a funny old game, and all that, so don't despair too much.

(I think my lot will probably be starting out as relegation candidate no. I A 1 a aa alpha again next season, by the way)

That does assume that Hertz make it to May, I would put them first, but I take your point.

[Lianachan]

I forgot Hertz would likely be starting on -15 points (if starting at all). In that case, I'd put us as relegation candidate no. 2 B 2 B BB beta.

[Heid the Ba]

The current thinking is that HMFC will become HMRC works team.

[Lianachan]

The current thinking is that HMFC will become HMRC works team.

[Arneb]

The current thinking is that HMFC will become HMRC works team.