The Ride Home

A German football club is to refund the tickets of 600 fans who travelled to see them put in a "pitiful performance" that ended in a 4-0 away defeat. Energie Cottbus supporters travelled 600 kilometres to Gelsenkirchen to see their team lose. It was the team's sixth loss in seven games.

"Ach tung, baby," the conductor said with a lop-sided grin as he leaned around the pole in the centre of the train carriage. The cluster of red and white fans barely looked up, and behind them the grey sprawl of some city's tail sped passed the window. The conductor felt the rail beneath the carriage, ba-doong-ba-doong-ba-doong.

His smile was getting tired.

"Tickets, please," he said, as he rearranged his hold on the pole.

A man swivelled out his hand without looking up. The conductor was relieved that he hadn't had to yell. He hated it when football fans got rowdy, although these sad-looking people didn't seem lively enough to muster up any kind of fracas.

"Danke."

The man's voice was deadpan. Danke. There was no How was your day? or How long till we arrive? Just Danke.

The conductor took the tickets from the outstretched hand, and felt a little queasy at how saturated with the sweat of disappointment the pieces of paper were.

The carriage moved around a corner and the torpid fans all shifted their weight as one, moving first left and then right.

"So how was the game?"

Six pairs of eyes lifted to the conductor: narrow, defeated but still dangerous. One of the women parted her lips, as if to speak. She was probably young, but her face had been hardened by the long journey and the weight of the red and white cap pulled down over her curly dark hair.

"Not good, eh? Well, there's always next week, I suppose."

Without any more small-chat, the conductor moved on, reaching out for the next pole and the next set of Cottbus Energie fans.

Sometimes it really paid to be from Gelsenkirchen. It wasn't everyday that you got the chance to rub the noses of Energie fans for a full five hours.

He looked at his watch, and smiled.

Three hours, twenty-nine minutes to go.

He peered down at three university students, all decked out in frowns and Energie scarves.

"How was the game?"