Gelsenkirchen doesn't necessarily have the best reputation. Because the Ruhr area city lags behind in many respects. Time and again, the City of a Thousand Fires ends up at the bottom of the rankings of cities across Germany.
After all, the city is known for its dazzling football club. Every fan in Europe knows FC Schalke 04 since they won the UEFA Cup in 1997. Although the Royal Blue are now relegated to the second division, the fans remain loyal to their club. Week after week they fill the Veldins Arena with 62,000 spectators. But people in America don't seem to have noticed anything about it yet.
Gelsenkirchen's existence is denied
At least Jimmy Kimmel doesn't seem too familiar with Gelsenkirchen. On his “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show on ABC, the American star host denied the city's existence when he was surprised to learn that American superstar Taylor Swift was scheduled to perform at Weldins Arena in the summer. “He was surprised that he wanted to perform three nights in a row at Schalke, even though no one had ever heard of Gelsenkirchen in Germany,” Kimmel joked, adding, “Maybe not even that.” (What did Donald Trump say? To do with the whole number, read about it here >>>)
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Jimmy Kimmel's reports focused on FC Schalke 04 during the week. Knappen responded in their own way after a very important breakout against Eintracht Braunschweig (click here for match report >>>).
Schalke offers an icy counterattack
The relegation-threatened club released a video after the all-important trio against their direct rivals. It shows how Nordkurve celebrated the players after the game. Comment to Jimmy Kimmel: “It's Gelsenkirchen.”
That Gelsenkirchen is more than the present is an ambiguous message for the American host. Gelsenkirchen is alive and kicking – along with the fans who are now looking forward to the series after the win against Braunschweig.
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Jimmy Kimmel has another piece of advice for fans to believe in Schalke's magic: “Ask Weston McKenney.” The US international should know that he played at Gelsenkirchen before moving to Juventus.
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