Dortmund is going to count how many times its supporters touch their phones. That’s historic. I’m weighing my words.
The club has launched a fan mode in its app with Vodafone. The app counts how many times you unlock your phone during the match. The less you touch it, the more points you get. With points, you can win signed shirts and vouchers for the BVB shop. First go at the next home game, against Eintracht Frankfurt.
I did the sums for myself, seat 14 in stand 2. I unlock when we score, to tell “Sunday Devils”. When we concede, to complain. When VAR is looking, to check on Sporza (the Flemish public broadcaster) what the referee can’t see. I wouldn’t get a single point. A disgrace. I’m weighing my words on that too.
But there are positives: at half-time you can unlock without losing points. You just have to switch the mode back on after the break. The paper cone of chips for morale, the WhatsApp for morale, and off we go again.
Carsten Cramer, the club’s CEO, spoke on the club’s channel of “more than 81,000 people in the stadium, singing together, cheering and holding their breath”. He said “this here and now is irreplaceable”. That’s historic too. Well, it’s pretty.
Silly question, but if you’re holding your breath, can you still tap your screen?
The club says it’s voluntary, just like coming to the stadium. My brother-in-law has already said he’d win. He never comes to the stadium.
Now we take it one game at a time, you know.
It’s true, we checked: VoetbalPrimeur.be.
