<i>“You may say I’m a dreamer,<br /> but I’m not the only one...”<br /> (John Lennon)</i><br /><br /> When the boys from DFB (The Co-operative of Bohemians Supporters) announced their initiative to save the debt-ridden, bankrupt Bohemians football club about a week ago, there were not many optimists around. Even the DFB chairman, Antonin (Tonda) Jelínek, admitted that he was initially skeptical.
The first meeting of the DFB changed all that. The meeting took place in the restaurant Klepáč, owned by one of the big supporters of Bohemians, Josef Hrubý. Over 300 enthusiastic fans showed up, far exceeding the seating capacity of the restaurant. Tables and chairs had to be taken out to make room for everybody. The DFB committee explained the DFB goals and answered all the questions. Then the fans lined up to sign up for the DFB membership and deposit their hard earned money. It was a long wait but nobody complained about it. After it was all said and done, 627 thousand Czech crowns were collected. Not a bad start!
The media got mesmerized by this unique action and all members of the DFB committee were in the centre of their attention. None more so than Tonda Jelínek, the driving force behind the DFB. Tonda managed to convey very convincingly, without phony pretensions, the message of DFB: “We are not football professionals, we are ordinary fans. But when everything else failed, we could not stand on the sidelines and watch our beloved club being erased from the history. We want to maintain the historic continuity of the club. And that’s why we are doing what we are doing.”
The response has been overwhelming. Many fans, young and not so young, have been coming forward to help. There are fans of other clubs that want to help too. The DFB committee is working on a mechanism through which people, who want to help financially but don’t want to become members of DFB, would be able to do so.
Application forms can be downloaded from Internet (http://www.fc-bohemians.cz/druzstvo/default_en.asp). They are also being handed out in many places in the Czech Republic. So far, over 1.340.000 Czech crowns have been collected, and more is coming.
A benefit concert is being organized by the poetic pub Balbinka on Saturday, April 9 (see also “A benefit concert for Bohemians”). The admission fee is voluntary and all proceeds will go towards the goal of saving Bohemians. If you enjoy live music while sipping your favourite beverage, this is the place to be!
Another piece of encouraging news came from an unexpected source - the Czech Football Association (ČMFS). It announced that it may forfeit its fine (3 million Czech crowns) imposed against Bohemians provided that all second league clubs agree to it during their meeting on April 12.
All in all, this was a very good week. Let’s hope the good news (and money) keeps rolling in.
