FCB fan clubs with 6,717 members in the USA .

FC Bayern opened its office in New York City .

million Americans take an interest in FC Bayern .

FCB Audi Summer Tours have taken place in the USA since 2014 .

choose which club they love and support , Tyler and his teammates could theoretically have joined any other club . But they opted for FC Bayern . Why ? Chris also found his way to FCB via the national team . “ I never had anything to do with soccer ,“ says the big Green Bay Packers fan . Until Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm enthralled him at the 2014 World Cup . He then simply googled which club his German favourites played for – and he also ended up at FC Bayern . It was different for Adam . His father comes from Stuttgart and he calls himself a Bayern fan “ from birth . I can ‘ t remember a time when I wasn ‘ t a Bayern fan .“ He set up the fan club with Tyler . “ Bayern are simply my team .“ But it ‘ s not enough to just follow the club closest to your heart on a screen . The fans from Chicago want to get the full sensory experience of FC Bayern – at the Allianz Arena . That ‘ s why they regularly travel to Munich . They follow their “ Star of the East ”, jump on a plane , take a taxi , ride the underground from Marienplatz to Fröttmaning , sing and bounce , immerse themselves in the red and white masses of the Südkurve and are completely dahoam ( at home ). They then realise why they fell in love with the club . “ At Bayern , there ‘ s no one player , there ‘ s only one team ! No-

one is more important than the club . Mia san mia ! I like this spirit ,“ says Adam . The special Munich club culture also appeals to Tyler . He ‘ s impressed by the fact that FC Bayern have remained true to their values . “ In the Premier League , so many clubs are owned by Russian oligarchs and millionaires from the Middle East or the USA . Bayern , on the other hand , is still a club of the fans . The club belongs to the supporters and members . In my opinion , that also rubs off on the team . It has a fan spirit .“ When the Chicago Supporters are sitting in the stands , they observe very closely , memorise the noises and the chants , soak up the atmosphere and take it back with them to Cleo ‘ s in Chicago . The fan club has already celebrated many titles there since it was founded . “ We ‘ ve celebrated a lot in the last few years ,“ says Tyler with a grin . In Chicago , you can be sure the alarm clocks will continue to go off early for FC Bayern .