In those moments when that final whistle blew in Frankfurt, marking the first Bundesliga title win for Bayern I’ve ever seen, expectedly, I celebrated in sheer euphoria with Bayern’s players on the other side of the globe. Yes, in that moment, I felt sheer joy, but it was only after I calmed and sat down, reflecting on my short time as a Bayern fan, when I truly realized how much this title meant…

This Bayern journey started nearly 3 years ago, when I fell in love with a Bayern that was very different to the one we see today, but at the same time, one which we are all familiar with. What I fell in love with was a “Robbery”-less Bayern, with a defense which, apart from Philipp Lahm, wouldn’t look out of place in the Europa League.

Mired in mid-table crisis, the Bayern struggled to a 3-3 draw against Borussia Moenchenglabach in what marked the first ever game I watched Bayern play. Soon after, I hear about this coveted competition called the Champions League, which crowns the best team in Europe, and arguably, the world. On that fateful Wednesday in March, I mustered up the courage to set a new 3:30 Champions League alarm, preparing to sneak to my computer and watch my first ever Champions League as a fan, and what a memory I had that night. I watched agonizingly as Bayern Munich had shots saved by an unnaturally godly keeper, and another, trickling on the goal line, too, just to lose in the 88th minute to an inferior Inter Milan.

That season, I saw Borussia Dortmund lift the Bundesliga shield, something which I found out is something we historically win very often, followed by seeing the Schalke which beat us win the DFB Pokal. It sure hurt, but for a half-season of watching, the agony was reduced, and with signings like the word class Manuel Neuer and the exciting Jerome Boateng, I was hopeful for a better season, which and as I found out, turned out to be much more than I bargained for.

The 2011/12 season started with a disappointing loss to Gladbach, but soon, we got off to a steamrolling start, getting a what seemed to be an insurmountable lead in the Bundesliga, with opponents helplessly and inevitably dropping a point or two every few games, while Bayern won one game after another with no signs of stopping. It was so comfortable, games won by less than 3 goals counted as forgettable, and many a Bayern fan had to look weeks ahead for the next Champions League game to truly satisfy their thirst for excitement, with the Bundesliga practically wrapped up. Meanwhile, our DFB Pokal journey rolled on relatively quietly, while in truth, on that front, we quietly smashed underdogs one after another, leaving them in our wake. It looked to me like as far as disappointment goes, that loss to Gladbach was the end, or so it seemed to be.

Bayern faltered slightly but kept up a decent run in the Bundesliga, but an on-fire Dortmund slowly climbed the 8-point lead we built over them to overtake us, before making sure of their win in a painfully close win against us, with Arjen Robben missing the decisive equalizing penalty, then receiving torrential abuse from Neven Subotic, an image I will never forget. Never mind, there’s always the DFB Pokal and that coveted Champions League, right? I got ready my Bayern jersey and excitedly watch the DFB Pokal final, just to watch us get completely and utterly smashed by Dortmund 5-2, in what marked my first Pokal final as a Bayern fan. Dortmund has done a quintuple over us. Never mind, we’ll now be completely determined to thrash Chelsea in front of our own fans to give us the biggest title of all in one of our best seasonal performances to date. I woke up, pulled my jersey over my head, and watched as Bayern took 43 shots, only to be matched in goals by Chelsea’s 9, before losing the title after what was actually a wonderfully placed spot kick by Bastian Schweinsteiger didn’t go in. I was broken. I have never felt so broken in my life. The weak 2010/11 season seemed like a peaceful memory. When I went out I was mocked by everyone I knew as the supporter who came 2nd at everything; Bayern, despite playing among best football in the world, was ridiculed by supporters of weaker teams which never got to a final to lose. It seemed like fate gave us the sharpest end of the sharpest stick it could find, giving us what was technically a “better” season, but really was the worst one possible.

Back to the comfortable present, with what is widely regarded as the best squad in the world and players on the bench who could walk into the starting lineup of just about any club in the world, this season’s Bundesliga win may have been a little too undramatic, but its significance is more than just a Bundesliga title, or the first one in 3 seasons. It’s the end of a long painful start for the short Bayern journey of a young fan like me, and the light at the end of a long tunnel – one that’s 3 years long.

(FCBM13 is a fan of Bayern München and a member of BayernZone forum)

· Comments