FIt’s fifty years ago that the Hubertus deer sneaked through a loophole onto the jerseys of Eintracht Braunschweig and thus triggered a revolution in German football. Until then, the deer was just the mascot of a herbal syrup called Jägermeister, and Eintracht wore a lion on its chest.
Hirsch instead of lion, but Jägermeister boss Günter Mast offered 100,000 marks per year, that was a lot of money for the club. In March 1973, Braunschweig played against Schalke for the first time with the Hirsch. However, because the German Football Association had banned shirt advertising, the deer was promoted to the heraldic animal of Eintracht, and as such it was allowed to be emblazoned publicly on the chest.
Then a Jägermeister!
A real crazy idea from Günter Mast, who suddenly found his stag and his cocktail of 56 herbs in all media. Without the deer on the Braunschweig jerseys, his brew would probably still be sold in mini bottles at drinking halls. As it is, it has enjoyed a meteoric rise, with 112 million bottles sold worldwide. Nothing more Hubertus, but Jägerbomb and Flying Hirsch.
In this way, Mast has not only made shirt advertising acceptable in Germany, but also the close connection between alcohol and sport. His deer gave the impetus, and the beer brewers in particular picked up the through ball. Just look at the minutes of the DSB Presidium meeting of May 2001. In it, the top of German sports advocates “a responsible use of alcoholic beverages, but speaks out emphatically against a general ban on alcohol advertising, since, for example, many breweries are financially involved in both top-class and popular sports.”
That’s a funny justification. It sounds as if the SSC Napoli would explain that they are pleading for responsible use of the Camorra, but are emphatically against a general ban on Camorra advertising, since many clans are financially involved in both top-class and popular sports.
Yes, I know, the comparison is worse than Neymar after a swallow. The Camorra is criminal, the breweries are not. But of the nine million Germans “with problematic alcohol consumption” counted by the Federal Ministry of Health, a few will be among those who drink up to 30,000 liters of beer during a Bundesliga game, not to mention the TV athletes at home. Football, sports betting, beer – that’s all the German sports fan needs. Then a Jägermeister!
