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.