The mascot of the Bundesliga club is Karl Marx. How is that

Competent appropriation of the Soviet heritage.

There was a case, we already somehow touched on the most sought-after and wealthy NBA mascots (if anyone has forgotten, then the Rocky lion cub from the Nuggets receives 625 thousand a year) . And with all the economic particulars and nuances, it cannot be said that the NBA mascot roster and their relationship with the league and employers surprised by non-standard. Gobies, dragons, bears and other representatives of the fauna without exception have stunt licenses, work diligently and hard and accordingly receive. As for the clubs themselves, they don’t push too hard in the process of inventing some original character. For example, I’m sure that the most extraordinary NBA mascot is still being looked for somewhere in the woods near Seattle .

The fact is that the league clubs do not want – and cannot afford – to make radical decisions: the status of the NBA club and political correctness oblige. And that is why, in the category of entertaining and uncontrollable madness, European clubs will always give their North American counterparts a head start. Moreover, for this it is not necessary to be a wealthy tyrant like the owner of Panathinaikos, Dimitris Giannakopoulos. Everyone can stand out. For example, the modest German club “Chemnitz 99” from the city of the same name, playing in the top division of the German championship.

The team from Saxony was founded 24 years ago and at first wandered around in the lower divisions, but by 2020 it broke into the elite and now surprises not only with the fact of its existence, but also with a mascot. At Chemnitz’s home arena with a capacity of 5,200 seats, the plush Karl Marx welcomes the visiting and supporter team. Yes, the same one is the author of Capital and the owner of a bushy beard, because of which he is often confused with his close friend, Friedrich Engels.

Despite the fact that Chemnitz has, for example, Dominik Lockhart and Arnas Velichka – both were consistently called up to the youth teams of their countries, and the Lithuanian even became the MVP of the Basketball Without Borders Europe tournament, held jointly with the NBA – namely Carly (this is the name of the mascot ) is a fan favorite and a subject of curiosity for the visiting public.

Karl Marx is cool. But what about basketball?

Basketball, in general, with everything.

To begin with, the very word Chemnitz comes from the Lusatian Serbs, a national minority living in Germany since the 12th century. There are especially many people from this diaspora in Saxony and Brandenburg – there even the names of the streets are written in two languages ​​- German and Serbian. Therefore, the attitude towards the cat in Chemnitz is appropriate: the game is loved and revered here. Therefore, on the walls you can often find various posters and stickers with fan symbols and, of course, Karl Marx chasing a basketball.