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content: a clockwork orange / ultra?!  / support / droogstory / antiracism
  A CLOCKWORK ORANGE

The name DROOGS comes from the book "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess. The word is a slang, which the protagonists use in the book and means something like friends/pals.

A Clockwork Orange is a fiction novel by Anthony Burgess, published in 1962, and later the basis for a 1971 film adaptation by Stanley Kubrick.
Burgess wrote that the title was a reference to an alleged old Cockney expression "as queer as a clockwork orange". Due to his time serving in the British Colonial Office in Malaya, Burgess thought that the phrase could be used punningly to refer to a mechanically responsive (clockwork) human (orang, Malay for 'person').

A Clockwork Orange is a violence shocking montage, a bad, cynical farce about the revolt against the civil regime, a accusal against the state, which synchronise misfits through medical manipulation and a pleading for the unconditional individual liberty.

Related Links: Clockwork Orange at Wikipedia / Stanley Kubrick


  ULTRA?!

The DROOGS are Frankfurt ultras. The item ultra (in Italian: Ultrà) appeared in Frankfurt for the first time in connection with Ultras Frankfurt, a group that was founded in 1997 and performed pioneering work in the German ultrascene. In this time the concept of "Mentalità Ultrà" circulated in Frankfurt and some people started to change something actively in themselves, their disposition, their setting and their form of support.

The feeling that suddenly everybody pulled together in Frankfurt, that the fan-scene developed to an unbelievable strength and superiority and, already after the first year, the Ultras Frankfurt (UF) became the measure of all things led to a member's boom at the UF. The complex-ity inside the own scene resulting from that, was easily compensated by the fact that there were people who exerted themselves more than other for them UF and which linked up people together better. At this point, above all, the name Daniel Reith has to be called who untiringly won people for the active work in the scene and who influenced UF in the first years decisively.

Also a big part had the single groups and their members who positioned themselves in the service of Ultras Frankfurt. One member of such a group was Martin Stein (Binding Szene) whose big salary was the building of a bridge between all fan cultures of the curve. Everyone already knew him from the "pre-UF-time" in the "G-Block" and respected him as a choir leader. He was not just any UF-member who got put in front of the curve, he was someone, the curve had already accepted quite long. Consequently you did not have to be a UF-member to be contented the man with the megaphone. Everybody joined in the sing-ing, no matter from which fan culture they came, and also this leaded to the fact, that the Frankfurt "Gegengerade" (on which everybody from the G-Block changed) became a dominant and strong appearance in Germany.

Strong influence on the UF above all had the Verrückte Köpfe (Ultras of FC Wacker Innsbruck founded in 1991) and later of course the NOMADI of Atalanta Bergamo (series A). You can call it a happy chance that Frankfurt reached to Bergamo by private friendship over Innsbruck; the contact with the Bergamasken came over the Verrückte Köpfe (VK) which maintained no contact with the NOMADI, but to the Brigate Nerrazzuro (BNA) which resolved after curves-internal conflicts, above all, with the Supporters, in 2005.

Ultra, is a movement which sloshed from Italy to Austria and Germany and thus it is not surprising that beside supportelements and disposition also other components of the fan culture were copied or were felt. 

Numerous ultragroups in Germany have adopted their names and symbols from Italian as well as French groups. Meanwhile you can ascertain in this regard also an interaction, so that also German influence is to be found in Italian curves. Also in other relations changes a lot. For example there is an influence from the Polish scene in Germany, above all, in the east, and in England, the land of the classical supporter, there are suddenly - earlier unthinkable - sporadic choreographies. Inside the fan scenes, an increasing exchange takes place, football fans stand in contact worldwide.

Indeed, the German ultramovement is not so ripe for a long time yet, as for example the Italian, however, it develops fast and starts to show signs of own character. In all entitled criticism of German ultragroups may not be forgotten that the Italian ultrascene already exists since the 50s and the German only since a little bit more than a decade.

Who looks for an explanation or an final definition of "ultras", will find - above all, if it is about ultras in the German fan scene - a long history of consideration, lot of influence, changes and interpretations. It is surely right to say, that an ultra is a football fan who deals more intensely and more complex than others with the support of his club.

Related Links: Ultras at Wikipedia / Pictures of Support


  SUPPORT

For us, the support of Eintracht Frankfurt is absolutely on top. The support of the own team makes the difference between the real football fan and the modern football customer. When there is said in many places, that a real fan does not do this or that,this can only be a mistake. Because, if you can generalise this, a real fan defines himself over things he does, not things, he does not. To support means to encourage, and encouragement is what the team needs. The team does not need applause like in Wimbledon, the energy and power of a good and loud curve however pushes the team and is highly valued by the players.

An urban legend says, that all roads lead to Rome. That does not apply for the players indeed (for them there is only the way via the UEFA Cup) but absolutely for the fans. In Frankfurt, where you have a traditional stronghold of fan-culture, different subcultures and generations interconnect-ed to a "coloured curve" in every  sense. In the fancurve (if G-Block, Gegengerade or Nordwest-kurve), those found a home, you can say of themselves, that football is more than just a sport, and visiting the stadium is more than watching others, exercising this sport.

In the past, our group was content with keeping a friendly relation inside the group for a long time, by a jointly encouragement of the Ultras Frankfurt and their actions. There has been a choreography by the DROOGS before the turn of the millennium indeed, but afterwards, UF-actions dominated the curve, where the DROOGS participated in, intensively. However in the last years, the DROOGS were involved increasingly with the support in the Nordwestkurve as regards content.

To spotlight is the intoning of song repertoire out of the curve and the earning of new songs inside the curve. Because we already got asked very often: Of course we know, that the group should have been brought an own intoner, but until now, there has not been a member, who wanted to cope with this challenge. In general, there isn't really a need for an own intoner, because of the soundsystem and the "godhead" with his charming voice: Martin Stein.

Concerning the optical presence of the group, we push and cultivate our very own style for a long time now, represented by big and small panning flags, two-poled banners and different fencebanners, with traditional, but also political group specific motives, symbols or contents. If classic supporter, Ultrà or whatever you see yourself or you are seen in the curve: Together for Eintracht Frankfurt, there's no way or journey too long and no voice too damaged, to go on singing even louder!

Related Links: Fan Scene of Eintracht Frankfurt


DROOGSTORY

Exactly 1999 years after parturition of the virgin Mary a few football addicted (particularly Frankfurt addicted) guys from the Wiesbaden area decided to found a Supporters Club.  Wiesbaden (about 270.000 inhabitants) is less than forty kilometers (twenty-five miles) to the west of Frankfurt.

The "Bombeleescher Wiesbaden" – so the name – arose in a timely manner for the centenary of Eintracht Frankfurt. A little time after, our supporters stuff and some clothes were ready, and our first website was brought to the internet. But just a few month later the upcoming Ultra-thought meant the end of the Bombeleescher. Some of us were infected; some wanted to keep things like they were. Finally a question of mindset, the group split up and the quick end had to be accepted as a fact.

From this point on, those who wanted to change to the ultra style support started the DROOGS. The whole fan scene of Eintracht Frankfurt changed then and the DROOGS started supporting the idea of Ultras Frankfurt. At that time, the DROOGS didn’t appear as the independent group we were. We were completely occupied with handling the duties of Ultras Frankfurt. We wanted to change that point, because our attitude and our mentality differed in some points (e.g. political).At late autumn 2000 the DROOGS accelerate the process and boosted setting own signs. But we were still supporting Ultras Frankfurt as well. In 2001 the DROOGS decided to keep their membership system, which means, that new members still had to qualify themselves about participation at our work for the stands. It is not possible, to get member by signing a form and paying a contribution.

We want to know our members; we want to know if they have the same objectives. We don’t focus to magnify our member figures, our goal is a flexible and active group and a fast decision making. This decision hasn’t been changed until today and proved as right. In face of that, we had to ask some members to leave the group, 'cause they didn’t took part in our work any more. Some of them are still at the stadium, and some of them are  still good friends. On the other hand, we got a couple of new high-motivated members in 2001 and 2003, so our group and our position had been starched during this time.

Big Highlights of the seasons  2003/2004 and 2004/2005 were the DROOGS-Buses. At the beginning our away busses were insider Tipps, today well known as... let’s say different. Anyway, if we announce a bus, many people request it. There must be a reason… During all the seasons we kept on supporting Ultras Frankfurt, in all issus. Of course we had many activities last season (2005/2006) too. 

We reorganized the responsibilities within our group and became much more efficient. The participation in preparing, financing and perform-ing the first Antiracist football tournament in Frankfurt-Rödelheim took a plenty of time. And was one highlight in 2006. Another great thing was the cup final in Berlin. We had a very good time there and it was an amazing weekend. Okay… Munich had set the lucky punch (they won by 1-0), but who was talking about Munich? No one! We rocked the town, we rocked the stadium…

Last but not least let us have a look, at today. Among all other duties around the football, our sociopolitical engagement, mainly, against racism and xenophobia, become a necessary part of our work.  And an extraordinary point, picturing our group is the respectful and friendly relation between all our members.


  ANTIRACISM

Already in the first months after the foundation of the DROOGS, some members wanted to bring up an alliance under the name "Resis-tenza Francoforte" what should put a sign against racism, neofascism and xenophobia and takes part in the work on European net-works. Nevertheless, at that time the group was not ready for this. Some members liked the slogan of the Ultras Frankfurt, that the fanscene is unpolitical and thought the group could be classified as political on the left side.

With the change of the Frankfurt fan scene, dominated by the UF97, who has its roots in a national rather right corner, to an unpolitical scene, the droogs could manifest her basics. With us and in the enlarged frame of our group (e.g. in our buses) there is no acceptance for misanthropic and inhuman slogans!

After this gratifying development to a political unity and maturity, we have also won the space to act as a group, to confess and to become active. Even if our work for the Support in the Stadium is in the foreground, we could take a big stand on the ranks. With the annual visit of the Mondiali Antirazzisti in Montecchio/Casalecchio (Italy) and the organisation of an antiracist football tournament in Frankfurt - taking place in 2006 for the first time - we use the possibility to be involved, to show flag and to exchange ourselves with like-minded people from other countries and other areas of our society. Since 2007 we also organise in regular distance movie screenings with socially critical and subculture content.
 

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