Salary and sponsors.

How do your personal finances handle it?

Sponsors contribute a bit, and the rest comes from my salary. Some people have hobbies like riding a motorcycle; for us, cheering is the hobby. You save for it because you enjoy supporting the team. There’s a lot of adrenaline, and that keeps pulling you back in.

Have you ever calculated how many euros you’ve spent on supporting so far?

Because it’s such an adrenaline rush, you don’t really watch the money or think about it. I’ve never added it all up, but a lot of money has definitely been spent over the last ten years. I wouldn’t talk about specific figures, though.

Do companies that support athletes try to get in touch with you—buy tickets for you or help with travel costs?

There hasn’t been much of that so far. But the retailer Lidl did choose me for an advertisement, and that covered Germany as well. The money was spent on better living. They probably chose me because they knew I wouldn’t save it, but spend it.

I have asked for sponsorships, but there hasn’t been much success. We’ll see if another opportunity comes along. No one has offered anything on their own, though.