BAC in Amsterdam – or Advertising people on tour – or why I tend to spend my weekends on rainy soccer grounds

Here some questions need to be answered:

1. What on earth does BAC mean?
2. What has this to do with travelling and Amsterdam?
3. What about sport grounds, soccer and rain?

1. Well, those of you working in German advertising or media agencies might know. It’s the Bauer Agency Cup and it is actually a soccer tournament. Or to put it otherwise: it’s 3,000 people going away for a weekend for a big party and some of them also play soccer on Saturday 😉 It mainly consists of going there on Friday with special trains, having a “get together” on Friday night, tournament all Saturday long, starting for some teams as early as 6 a.m., big party Saturday night, this year including watching Germany’s first game in the Euro Cup 2012 where we won 1:0 against Portugal, and train ride home on Sunday.

2. This years BAC was held in Amsterdam. Three special trains from North, South and West Germany (well, somehow you have to ship 3,000 people to Amsterdam) made their way to Amsterdam. For people from Munich the trip started as early as     2 a.m. We were a bit more lucky, as our train left from Dusseldorf at 9.30 a.m. Even been on the platform was an event by itself: about 1,000 people, mostly wearing matching t-shirts according to there agencies or even costumes, all equipped with cases of beer or other alcohol, waiting for a train. For the Macquarie people: think Conception Day with the college t-shirts mixed with theme parties and the party people in a bit older, more condensed and far more crazy. For the people from Darmstadt: think Abiparty at the Krone only 10 years older and for a whole weekend of serious fun. We were “guarded” by police officers so we didn’t do no harm to other passengers waiting for a train on the other platform… And then the party began. In the different compartments but most of all in the party wagon. No wonder the Dutch police was not that happy when between 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. 3,000 people that had already partied for 6 to 10 hours poured out of the main station in Amsterdam…

3. And Soccer? Well our team, Inter McCann, nearly won. We ended up 2nd which is absolutely great and was based on great support from 8.30 a.m. onwards (yes we were at the field in light rain and a temperature that felt like around 0°C that early and cheered during each game). Otherwise the tournament day was a bit shitty. The weather was at its worst. Rain, wind, just horrible. I left at around 2.30 p.m. because I was chilled to the bone and all I wanted was a hot shower and a nap nicely tucked up all snuggly in bed. But other people didn’t mind the weather at all and partied, played or made a colourful mess at one of the stalls.

After that experience I didn’t think I would end up watching amateurs playing soccer too soon again. And what happend. On sunday (it was rainy and cold again), Michael and I went for breakfast, met some friends and then decided to take a look at the “Dem Schack Norris sein Cup“, a charity soccer event from and for Dusseldorf’s advertising agency and gastronomic scene with the entrance fee going to the Dusseldorfer Kindertafel (a charity who tries to make sure that Dusseldorf’s kids from poor families get a hot meal per day). And this is how we ended up in pouring rain again. But what don’t you all do for charity! And coming to that I seem to get a liking for that. In the end I’ll start playing soccer too or becoming a cheerleader (it’s the only thing you can do to keep warm but on the other hand I’m absolutely clumsy and it would look weird…).

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