Matchday Seven: The Billy-Goats Snuffed

By: Scott | September 26th, 2009

A note to the broadcast rights holders: Stop it. You’re not going to win and you’re just upsetting people. People like me, who just want to see their club play and have no other option but to rely on the Internet streams made available by unsung heroes. For the profits that come from every kit, cap or flag purchased with my club name on it, my rights to enjoy the match have been paid. When North American broadcast rights are removed from the fumbling paws of people like those at GolTV, whose allusions to making all Bundesliga matches of the 2009/2010 season available to the supporters were little more than insincere musings, and instead given to a broadcaster with the capabilities and desire to let us see what we want to see, I shall gladly trade the choppy, low-res streams, the giggle-sopped Cantonese (or is it Mandarin?) commentary, the weekly feed hunts that generally continue well past kick-off time and pay you. But as long as broadcasters choose to wallow in the crumbling castle of media distribution as it used to be, then I will be a stream thief and I will show no remorse for it. There are thousands of us and in trying to shut it down, rather than working with technology to stake your own claim in the p2p ring, all that you serve to do is the limit the fanbase. Limiting the fanbase means limiting interest. Limiting interest means reducing profits and the overall value of the league name. And if the league name doesn’t carry much value, neither do your broadcast rights. And that should never be the endgame for any company with its head outside its own arse.

Oh, and another thing. Screw you, Bayern München. Can’t you eke out a win- or even a damn draw- when I need you to?

So how was your Saturday? Over at this end of the keyboard, the few minutes of the Rhine Derby I managed to see contained what I’ve since read were the only truly exciting moments of the match: Two glorious saves from Adler in rapid succession and a class goal by Rolfes just as the official limbered up his lungs for the blowing of the final whistle, letting us keep our cleated boots firmly on the throat of the Billy-Goats and allowing us to go three points clear at the top of the table for about two hours.

Of course, this win was more important than being able to call ourselves league leaders. It was about shaking off the disappointment of being bounced out of the Pokal in the second round and proving we can stay focused even when the plan doesn’t go off as intended. And it was also about Köln losing to us once again.

As far as rivalries go, there was no shortage of that today. An altercation between Adler and Köln midfielder Maniche earned them each a yellow card. Maniche complained that Gonzalo Castro had called him a bad name (Oh, the humanity!) but whether or not that’s what prompted Maniche to use Vidal’s babymaker as a footstool toward the end of the match wasn’t specified. Whatever the reason, the Portuguese International earned himself a red card and won’t be there when Lukas Podolski leads his bedraggled band over to his former haunting grounds next weekend.

Lukas called today’s loss a “step backward.” Welcome to Köln, Poldi. City of regret.

That Köln’s two-match “winning streak” had to be brought to a halt by Leverkusen must’ve made the sting of their loss even worse, and there were most certainly some glasses raised for that very reason in the beerhalls back home.

Jupp Heynckes said he was pleased with the squad’s perseverance today, although the word on the ‘net is that the match was far from exciting, with our side keeping to the defensive style of play that seems to be this season’s MO. As a Leverkusen supporter, I can’t be unhappy with a win, but a bit more activity up front would be purty to look at, too. In my mind it doesn’t bode well for us that we leave Köln, whose good form of late might just as easily be a fluke, with only a single goal for our efforts.

Here’s the Victory Beard, matchday seven cleared off:

Next up, the Werkself face a struggling Nürnberg side before taking things to Hamburg, where we might finally be able to do something about the carousel we’ve been on with HSV for the past few weeks.