A very modern crime

As I summer in Westphalia - not far from where this occurred - it is of more than passing interest to me.  Even in a sophisticated town like Münster you see BVB gear everywhere, people love that team.

The Get-Rich-Quick Scheme That Almost Killed a German Soccer Team 

According to investigators, Wenergold [the bomber] could have made as much as €570,000 ($607,933.50) in the unlikely event that BVB stock hit zero in the immediate aftermath of the attack. But his scheme didn’t pan out. By the time the German stock exchange opened the next day, April 12, the limited injuries had been widely reported and management had already announced a new date for the quarterfinal. BVB stock briefly dropped 2 percent, then more than recovered by the end of trading, leading Wenergold to sell most of his options the next day at a loss.

(link)


As I continue my global search for a soccer team to care about, BVB crops up in some of the screens.

Number one, pretty good logo:

Number two, pretty good team.  Five Thirty Eight has them #16, between Arsenal and Man U, but behind Ajax and Tottenham, both of which I like better. - (link)

Number three, pretty good league.  The Bundesliga is well-organized, crowds are well-behaved, and matches are generally safe except for when they are bombed by stock-jobbers. -

Number four, interesting history.  Wikipedia:  "The club was founded on 19 December 1909 by a group of young men unhappy with the Catholic church-sponsored Trinity Youth, where they played football under the stern and unsympathetic eye of the local parish priest. Father Dewald was blocked at the door when he tried to break up the organising meeting being held in a room of the local pub..."  Also, "[in the 1930s] Borussia's president was replaced when he refused to join the Nazi Party, and a couple of members who surreptitiously used the club's offices to produce anti-Nazi pamphlets were executed in the last days of the war." - (link)


And...the team is revitalized!  They're playing great!  And...uh-oh...  "After routing Nuremberg 7-0 on Sept. 26, Dortmund fell two goals behind Bayer Leverkusen in its next match before it turned the game around to win 4-2.  Marco Reus said he noticed his teammates weren't as focused as they should have been." - (link)


Um, no thanks, got one of those already.  Don't need another team having trouble getting its beflügeln on.  But we'll put you on the Wait List - if Tottenham falters I may be in touch.