Meinhard Christians: Memories of the legendary rise of BW Borssum

Meinhard Christians: Memories of the legendary rise of BW Borssum

There are personalities in Emden's regional football history whose memories will remain unforgettable. One of these personalities is Meinhard Christians, who shares many moving moments in his look back at his time at SV Blau-Weiß Borssum. Born in 1943 in Korbach/Hesse and raised in Borssum, Christians began to discover his passion for football at the tender age of nine, inspired by his teacher Gülzau at the Westerburgschule. His sporting career took him through the club's various teams, starting with the 1st boys team up to the 1st team of SV Blau-Weiß from 1920 Emden-Borssum e.V. nwzonline reports that ….

With his first football boots from “Hummel Hummel”, equipped with iron studs and steel caps, Meinhard Christians was able to live out the passion of his life on the pitch. The beginnings were certainly humble; Instead of traveling on a team bus, the players rode bikes to away games and brought sandwiches with them. Such memories shape the very essence of football in his childhood: community and cohesion.

The path to advancement

One of the biggest highlights in the club's history was promotion to the state league on May 8, 1965, when the Borssum team won 4-2 against “Germania Papenburg” in Leer. The goalscorers on this memorable day were the brothers Helmut and Bernhard Janssen, Boermann and de Boer. In front of 3,000 spectators, in rainy weather, this triumph was celebrated extensively both on the square and in the local restaurant “Karlchens Bierstuben”. Such experiences are not only formative for the players themselves, but also for the entire community that rallies behind their club. SV Blau-Weiß is now the second largest recreational sports club in Emden with almost 2,000 members and offers numerous sports, including football, table tennis and volleyball, as the entries on Wikipedia show.

When looking back on his own career, Meinhard Christians not only thinks about promotion to the regional league, but also about the difficult match against Hamburger SV in the Ems Stadium in 1970. Here, the Borssum team suffered a bitter 3-0 defeat in front of 6,000 excited spectators, a game that has gone down in the club's annals. His own farewell game in 1978 against Werder Bremen remains another unforgettable memory. A life path that includes 17 years in the first team and then another decade with the old men at Kickers Emden.

A life for football

Football always played an important role in Christians’ family. With three grandchildren who actively play football themselves and a daughter, Ute Maarfeld, who excelled in swimming in the 2nd Bundesliga, it is clear how diverse the sporting spirit is rooted in the family. It is clear that the experiences back then are not only personal memories, but also laid the foundation for future generations.

SV Blau-Weiß Borssum itself looks back on an eventful history, which began in 1920 as a workers' gymnastics and sports club and will certainly experience many more successes in the future. Every weekend, the pitches that offer traditions that are firmly anchored in the region and document the significantly increasing popularity of football bpb emphasizes that... not only in Borssum, but also in the entire region, which has established football as a popular sport.