This certainly worries me as not only am I a proud owner of 2 Volkswagen vehicles (a 1999 New Beetle GLS 2.0, and a 1963 Transporter Kombi) but also a fan of VfL Wolfsburg, and I wonder how the scandal, involving Volkswagen's line of TDI Clean Diesel models might affect the fanbase that both the Bundesliga, and specifically VfL Wolfsburg, would/could potentially have here in America, with regards to both TV ratings (on Fox Sports) and also fan interest here in the States. What I DON'T want to see, is fans who could've/would've been or who are currently supporters of Die Wolfe, (like myself, albeit casual due to Fox deciding not to use the "every team, every match, every week" formula that NBC currently uses with the Premier League) all of a sudden jumping ship to other clubs within the Bundesliga (especially Bayern, GOD NO!!!) or even looking elsewhere in Europe to another league (EPL, La Liga, Serie A, or Ligue 1) altogether. The scandal effects (at least vehicle-wise) any and all 2009-newer Volkswagen models with the TDI Clean Diesel Engine in them, it DOES NOT affect any other of their models, so if you own any other VW models than described earlier you are not affected by this. But, there are a couple of articles that concern me, relating to both VW and the effect that this might have on both the operations of not only VW, but also how it in its own right might relate to those of VfL Wolfsburg, who are currently 4th on the Bundesliga table, that might be of great interest to all German football fans worldwide: https://www.quora.com/Does-the-Volk...fl-Wolfsburg-of-which-Volkswagen-is-100-owner and also http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football..._the_day&ns_source=facebook&ns_linkname=sport input please. Thanks, Ray Jackson
I can't speak for others, but I don't think it affects my interest in the team to any significant degree. It's not as if the team did something wrong. To me it's like Gazprom sponsoring Schalke or Emirates sponsoring half the teams in Europe. I may not like what the sponsors stand for/are associated with/did in the past/etc., but it doesn't carry over into my thoughts on the teams themselves. Well, maybe it does a little, and could make me choose not to buy a jersey, but it is not enough to sway me to not like the team. I think the Wolves' biggest issue for new fans who read up on teams before choosing one is their image as a plastic team rather than a traditionsverein, along with the claims that they have no strong fan culture at home like BVB, S04, Koln, etc., and the claims that Wolfsburg itself is not a great place to visit. Those latter claims may affect those whose goal is to pick a team and eventually attend a home game.
VfL Wolfsburg is owned by Volkswagen, so they are directly affected, since VW is cutting costs. So far the cuts for Wolfsburg have been modest (the planned new youth academy was scrapped). They are planning to cut on their sport sponsoring in general, but this so far seems to affect teams from citys without a VW plant (plus Wolfsburg's ice hockey team, though). It is still not fully clear how hard VW will be hit financially in the end, so bigger cuts might follow in the future.
That's absolutely correct. I was just answering the OP's question as to how this will affect the fanbase, rather than the club. Doubtless will cost the club more that the immediate changes VW has instituted.
The amount of money VW spends is pretty much the only reason they have a fanbase. If that money dries up and they go back to their natural level, which is an elevator club between the second and third division, than I doubt they will have much of an international fanbase left. That still isn't all that likely at the moment, though (unfortunately). I haven't heard all that much praise for the "project" Hoffenheim lately either, and certainly not as many "fans" around for them as there were six years ago.
I got into them in 2010 and got my first VfL Wolfsburg jersey (one from Puma from the 1998-99 season) during the 2010-11 season because of their ownership (VW), and the fact that I own a couple of Volkswagens in my driveway, and then found out more about the club and their history later, but admitted, I probably would not have become much of a fan of theirs as I have been had it not been for VW's ownership, even though not as much now due to Fox Sports' somewhat BS coverage of the Bundesliga overall, pulling the same bullshit song-and-dance as GolTV did before (usually showing BVB/Bayern/Schalke/Leverkusen), instead of going to the same formula NBC Sports Group has with the Premier League (every team, every match, every week). I can tell you right now that the Arsenal match away to Norwich City on Sunday will not be on either NBC, NBCSN, or on USA, but, as described, they will be on LIVE, through Premier League Extra Time and also online with NBC Sports Live Extra. If Fox Sports offered that same or similar kind of coverage, I'd still be watching Wolfsburg every matchday, and my old Wolfsburg forum would've been jumping at the seams like it used to when I was streaming the matches LIVE illegally on sites like ATDHE.net and FirstRowSports.eu from 2010-11 until 2012-13, and also having to pick up some German (mainly off the on-screen graphics) thanks to the streams being that of Sky Deutschland's great coverage in which NBC has echoed with theirs of the PL, before getting that virus in my PC in Spieltag 1. when Die Wolfe were away to Hannover 96 at the start of the 2013-14 season. BTW, I DID catch them LIVE in UEFA Champions League on Fox (FS1) a few days ago away to CSKA Moscow and I thought it was a terrific victory for The Wolves, on to Augsburg, for our match against them this Sunday, it will be shown on Fox (FS2) LIVE at 11:30 ET/8:30 PT, and I'll be watching that one rather than being online for The Gunners, and then in 2 weeks, provided they are not playing at the same time as Arsenal is, at home to United, and I hope that Der Grun-Weisses VfL can lock up a spot in the Champions League knockout stage for the first time in their 70-year history.