Football, Mixen & the Stadionwurst - A Love Story
Michael Wiethaus aka Mixen is a true lover, a bon vivant and OG terrace hero of the game. So besides all his creative powers from being an illustrator, graphic designer and one of the nice, smart and sexy minds behind the most loveable and most drunk skate shop in the world (SHRN), Mixen is all about football.
There are two famous teams in our hometown and Mixen went the hard, maybe more passionate way, took the L and chose 1860 Munich aka the beautiful losers. But as a true lover of the game Mixen’s love does not end at the sidelines of Munich's home matches and as a true lover of food Mixen’s love does also not stop outside the doors of classic restaurants.
Every year (not) Mixen is groundhopping trough England, experiencing the motherland’s football combined with the motherland’s food and vibes. For Biancissimo he reviewed some of the most notorious foods in and around the stadiums, took some romantic pictures and answered a few question on top, lovely innit?
Hi Mixen, so what’s the story behind you and your New Year’s trip to England and it’s pitches every year?
Cheers Adrian! First, we are not doing this every year. The story is really simple. We both love beer and football and England has no winter-break, haha! My brother is FC Bayern fan and I’m into 1860 and so we are not able to go to matches together. Because of that we decided to do a trip like this two years ago an this year again!
Football and Mixen is…
A love story from the beginning to forever.
What do you love the most about English stadiums and what’s the main difference to the German ones?
It has a unique vibe, especially during boxing day and New Year. There are matches everyday and you see a lot of locals there because everyone's at home for the winter holiday. Most of the stadiums are in the middle of housing areas, which means people live next to the stadium. Unfortunately you are not able to stand the whole match like in Germany - and you are not allowed to drink beer on the terrace. This year I fell in love with the fact that it’s really common to drink tea all the time, haha! I like the fact that there is not that much police presence there. Maybe they do that at those derbies like Northlondon-Derby (Arsenal vs Tottenham), but still you can walk around the stadium freely and have pints nearly everywhere. You don't get separated as an away-fan and there are home and away pubs. When you act normal, everyone is friendly and always up for a pint, I really like that.
What about the food? Do you miss the German “Stadionwurst” every time you there?
Oh, they have a proper wurst as well there, but everyone is more into burgers and pies. I always try to eat and drink what the locals order, so I don’t miss that stuff from home. I can have that the whole year so I’m always glad to try something new. But everyone is really into meat so it’s pretty hard for veggies.
When did you come up with the idea about reviewing the English food in and around football stadiums?
I’m really into documenting stuff and obviously food as well, haha. We had 7 games in 9 days, and we had no time at all to eat at any restaurant. We always checked if there were any shops that people were into, like a certain Fish’n’Chips or Burger thingy. So this time I started to check out more different foods in and around the stadiums. Then I flipped through the photos and asked you for a feature, because I know you completely feel me with all that crazy food stuff, haha!
(I do)
The best food you ever had in a stadium?
Puh, that’s a tough one. Maybe the Steaksemmel at Union Berlin, or the „3 im Weggla“ in Nuremberg. I always enjoyed the „Fischsemmel“ at St. Pauli as well. During the trip it was the Pie at Dagenham and the Burger outside the Stadium at Anfield. The Burger at Dulwich was pretty nice too, especially in combo with the Beavertown Beer.
The worst?
A cold and raw Bratwurst in Düsseldorf.
A perfect day in the life of Mixen consists of…
Wake up with no hangover and have a proper breakfast. Meet up friends for a few pints. Then football and pints at a bar/pub with good music and good conversations. Lovely food in between. Hopefully with good weather conditions.
Thank you a lot, Mixen!
Cheers Bianco.
