After the death of his father, Lex-Tyger Lobinger doesn’t feel like playing football. The professional from second division 1. FC Kaiserslautern is still in the stadium – and is comforted by the fans. His teammates also give him a lot of encouragement. The son of the pole vault icon is very grateful for that.
The sporting failure at 0:1 in Paderborn was exceptionally irrelevant to fans and professionals of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. After the final whistle of the game, there were much more important things in the ranks of the Palatinate: consolation and encouragement for Lex-Tyger Lobinger, whose father Tim died of cancer on Thursday at the age of just 50.
“It’s very bad. Today we wanted to get Tyger to win. Someone lost their father who fought for six years. You want to comfort someone, but everything you say doesn’t really make any sense, “described FCK striker Terrence Boyd describes the emotional world at the second division soccer team and adds: “You realize for a moment that this is all just a game.”
The 32-year-old wore a shirt with the inscription “RIP Tim” under his jersey and explained his emotional sympathy: “I knew Tim from my time at RB Leipzig when he was an athletic trainer there.” The approximately 3,000 FCK fans who traveled with them also showed sensitivity and made Lobinger with chants and a banner on which “Cheer up, Lex-Tyger!” to read was courage. Boyd said: “I almost cried myself. It gives you goosebumps.”
The 23-year-old attacker, who traveled to Paderborn but was not in the squad for understandable reasons, stood in front of the fan block after the final whistle with tears in his eyes. On Saturday, Lobinger thanked Instagram for the support. “Thank you for this great campaign and all the kind words and messages. Unfortunately, I’m not able to go into more detail at the moment. I really appreciate it,” he wrote.
The club had also spoken on Instagram: “Football is not everything in life – we had to experience that painfully in the last few days,” said 1. FC Kaiserslautern about photos of the fan campaign. “The gestures surrounding yesterday’s away game in Paderborn were all the more comforting and touching. Dear Tyger, we all stand together and are by your side and that of your family.”
Kaiserslautern’s captain Jean Zimmer was also visibly moved by the events outside of the game. “Everyone in the team gives him credit for Tyger being with us today after this stroke of fate. It’s hard to understand what’s going on in your head and it’s hard to find the right words for him,” said the 29-year-old. To show their sympathy, all FCK players wore a black ribbon around their wrist. “That came out of the team and it was for Tyger,” reported Zimmer.
