BERN’S MARCH ON HISTORY CONTINUES … FIFTEEN MINUTES WITH FRANK HOFFERAN
The Sumptuous Zillertal Valley
Observations & Opinions / Week Thirteen
From Harold Abrahams – Special Correspondent for TSS
A week ago, Kitzbühel and Trento led the jumble that is the Alpine League with 24 points each. A week later, after the ’Kamms lost at home to a middling Interlaken team, 14-10, and Trento likewise met with defeat, they’re both looking up at surprising Lucerne, who handled Eisenerz 16-9 at home.
I found myself Saturday morning in the vale of the gorgeous Ziller River, breathing in clean Tyrolean air and anticipating a glorious day in Mayrhofen, where Zillertal plays most of its matches. And on this Match Day 13 of the 2024-25 season, it was the red(green?)-hot Red Greens who sent Trento back to the Dolomites with a 12-8 defeat to contemplate. Zillertal, winners now of three straight matches, are clawing at the teams just above them. I had not visited this fine venue in four years and was charmed anew by the spirited fans. Half of the 7000 fans sat on the west side of the meadow, all in Red, and faced their counterparts, 3500 or so supporters all in Green. And don’t forget the never-ending chants and calls: those in green calling out a hearty “Red!” … followed by the red-clad fans answering hoarsely with “Green!”
Hailed by their faithful supporters, the Red Greens downed an Italian team that battled gamely and had to have the win taken from them. Luddy Bischof, a swift winger who had not scored a skot all season, scored two, pulling the RGs even at 8-8 with 12 minutes remaining and then securing the win with a tough plunge that earned him another four points and, based on the blood loss, a broken nose. Afterwards, tilting his head back to stanch the wound, Bischof laughed and said, “A black eye is no price to pay for a home win. My sisters were here today and said that every girl near them was ready to kiss me for scoring the winning points. So, I’ll be OK.”
While this correspondent did not witness any lasses converge on Ludwig to repay him for his sacrifice that guaranteed the fans’ happy afternoon, I can confirm that Zillertal has a momentum about them that may see them make the leap into the Tyrol League for the first time in 31 seasons.
Central Europe has seen plenty of famous marches and advances: Roman legions criss-crossed the region as they saw fit … Goths marauded at will … Attila and his Huns rode wild in the late 300s. But another inexorable march is happening this year, in the 2024-25 season, as the Armed Bears of Bern are laying waste the idea that Switzerland is always a neutral country. Their latest victory, a comfortable 15–7 defeat at Munich, must have left the hosts wishing they could trade in their Lederhosen for some armor. Tied 7–7 at the interval, the Bears battered the Germans throughout the 43 minutes of the second stanza, pushing in one skot after an “interminable drive that broke us,” to quote Hose’s Gate, Ule Unger, a valiant player on a team that was over-matched this day. The later score, an electric dash from Leonhard “Mule” Brunner, from 25 meters out, came with 6 minutes remaining and the Germans shattered. Some team may contrive a way to beat this season’s iteration of the Armed Bears, but as Bern stalwart and current Hofer Medal Award-holder Otto Von Steiger said after the match, “We are a hard team to reckon with on our day.” So far, with a 13-0-0 record, every day has been their day.
As well-versed fans of Wiesespiel can recite, only three teams – in, remember, 150+ years – have crafted a perfect regular-season record. The 1903 Aggsbach team – a roster that rivals enjoyed calling “the Immaculate Canons” – posted the first 18-0-0 record ever, only to lose in the Final to Klagenfurt in an oh-so-close 9-8 decision for the fifth of the ’Wyrms’ ten titles. In 1925, Salzburg posted an 18-0-0 mark and won every match by at least 8 points before punishing the upstart Railmen of Mulhouse 26-4 to complete the first “19er” and, this correspondent argues, to produce the most dominant campaign ever. And, if you have a desire to start a brawl in Zermatt’s best pub, just tell the Swiss patrons at the Shepherd’s Crook that the 1947 Matterhorn team that went 19-0-0 (edging Villach 13-11 for the Tyrol Cup) did so only because, as a squad based in a neutral country, the Black Eagles had not suffered any losses of players as had teams in nations beset by the recently-ended War.
No figure in Wiesespiel – or perhaps all of Austria – is more beloved than Villach Tirolerhut Center and Captain Frank Hofferan, who holds the Waldmüller Medal currently (and for the sixth time), an award given for the player who exemplifies the Best Sportsmanship in Wiesespiel. I sat down with Frank in Villach mid-week to talk the Meadow Game, Klagenfurt, and pretzels. Here is an excerpt from the conversation (to read the complete conversation, visit TSS online):
Abrahams: When he was asked who he voted for for the Waldmüller Medal last year, Allie Wurter [the Gate for Klagenfurt – Villach’s famed rivals] shrugged, smiled and said, “Simple. I always vote for Frank. There is no second choice.”
Hofferan [laughing]: Allie is a good man – for a Wyrm. He and I are mates. Our daughters are dear friends, our wives talk about both of us behind our backs. And he is a fantastic player – I’d pay to watch him. But don’t tell him that, please.
Abrahams: All right – Allie is a friend and votes for you. But you win this award every season – many others also select you. Why is that, do you think?
Hofferan: I can’t say. I love being on the field, and perhaps some of my enjoyment is apparent to opponents. I understand that we are all placeholders in a 150-year old tradition that helps define the part of the world in which we live, upholds a heritage, and offers an honest contest for fans who pay money, spend their time, and expect us to try our best to win, but win with fair play.
Abrahams: Well, now, that eloquent statement explains well why hundreds of fellow athletes look to you as a spokesman for the game and the league. In a related question, why is the Austrian League growing right now? It’s not a new game – why are many people intrigued now who may not have been a decade ago?
Hofferan [munching pretzels and sipping a ginger ale (he doesn’t drink alcohol)]: That, I think, is an understandable phenomenon. Players in Wiesespiel are gritty, proud, tough and, most of all, humble. They don’t grouse when they lose and they don’t crow when they win. Honestly, for a century and a half, melodramatic reactions and arrogant gestures have been seen as crass and quietly trained out of any player who wants to introduce that kind of behavior into our game. We are a current generation of players, but we are one chapter only in the long story of a game which none of us has the right to besmirch with outlandish behavior. Listen, Paul Lackner is the best player I have seen in twenty years, and it’s possible that Mule Brunner may surpass him, but even those two stars know that Wiesespiel has been played a certain way for 150 years, and they won’t act bigger than the game. We all respect each other, and that is built into the culture. I hope that Allie and I and other older players have demonstrated the respect for our game and its history that younger stars will emulate.
Abrahams: What a compelling response, Frank. No wonder many – including me – have called you the Voice of the AL.
Hofferan: Is that what I am called? When we lost at Klagenfurt a year ago, I was called by one Wyrm fan, an “old man who can barely make it down the field” [Laughs]. And he wasn’t far wrong that day! Allie and I both fell flat on the grass when the final bell rang!
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