ABSTRACT
In 1993 the German Football Club SV Werder Bremen won the prestigious football tour-nament “UEFA Cup” 1 in a dramatic final against AC Milan. I remember jumping from my seat when the final whistle blew—not in the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza where the final was taking place, but in my dad's computer room. The team achieved the second highest possible trophy in European Club football — and so did I. After hundreds of hours of playing “Bundesliga Manager Professional” 2 (Software 2000, 1991) and accompanying the club as their manager and trainer for 5 virtual years, I finally made it. A few months before starting to play the videogame (a successful German sports management simulation game) I did not know much about football. There was no specific team I supported and I was a terrible football player. To be honest, the only reason I even got that far in this sports videogame was because a classmate told me about a cheat to get unlimited financial resources. Without its central challenge (limited amount of money) the game was straightforward and easy: you could trade players, form a squad, scout for new players, send the team to training camps, and improve the stadium. I could choose one out of 64 teams from the German 1st to 3rd league and my only competitor was the computer. I was hooked! The passion I developed for this game tapped into something greater than my enjoyment for the game itself. It was my entry point to a whole new world: football culture. A year later my new favorite hometown Club SV Austria Salzburg also made it to the UEFA Cup Final, this time not simulated but in the real Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, and lost against Inter Milan. For me, my videogames, my hometown team, and my passion for the sport and my physical engagement with football were all connected.
