{"id":101620,"date":"2019-08-16T16:34:32","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T14:34:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=101620"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:24","slug":"only-in-rotterdam-would-you-hear-hardstyle-in-a-stadium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/08\/16\/only-in-rotterdam-would-you-hear-hardstyle-in-a-stadium\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Only in Rotterdam would you hear hardstyle in a stadium’"},"content":{"rendered":"

From up close, Adam Trebski looks like a provoked prisoner with his striped blouse and his hands smacking against a durable plexiglass wall. Zoom out a bit further and you\u2019ll see that the recent graduate is actually one of 1,250 supporters of Sparta Rotterdam who have made the journey south to watch their football club take on archrivals Feyenoord in the infamous Kuip. Pent up in a human paddock surrounded by more than 48,000 belligerent Feyenoord fanatics, the Rotterdam Derby felt like an ‘ideal’ place to interview Trebski about his views on Dutch culture.<\/p>\n

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New Sparta supporter Adam Trebski just moments before the kickoff of the Rotterdam Derby.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Standing in the away section of a football stadium\u2014especially De Kuip\u2014is a bit like what it must feel like to be a gorilla in the Blijdorp Zoo, except, rather than being gawked at by tourists holding selfie sticks, you\u2019re constantly getting harassed by sunburnt bald men who love to flash the middle finger\u2014amongst other things. Standing safely behind plexiglass walls and security guards, Trebski watches the circus around him with amusement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vulgarity amongst De Kuip crowd is pretty astounding,\u201d laughs Trebski, who recently graduated with a Masters in Innovation. \u201cGot to love the fact that they\u2019re blasting hardstyle through the speakers<\/a> to get the people pumped. Only in Rotterdam would you hear hardstyle in a stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having just promoted from the second tier of Dutch football, Sparta are the clear underdogs going into this fixture. Regardless, it is the Sparta faithful, including Trebski today, that are making all the noise in the stadium once the hardstyle music faded out. Once the referee blew the whistle, we pause the interview and focus our attention on the match.<\/p>\n

Half time<\/h2>

A tense 45 minutes resulted in no goals, but Trebski feels optimistic that the second half will be more fruitful. As we wait for play to resume, the recent graduate opens up a bit about his life in Rotterdam.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u201dWhen you meet people from other studies, they already have this preconceived idea of you and they put you into this IBA-mold\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cMoving to Rotterdam was also my first time in Holland\u2014I hadn\u2019t visited before coming to study here,\u201d said Trebski, wiping the sweat from his forehead. \u201cMy first impression was that Rotterdam reminded me a lot of Scandinavia where I had lived before, but then as soon I started interacting with people I realized Dutch people are a lot more open and hospitable. And just like in Sweden, everyone speaks English so I felt right at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trebski belongs in the category of internationals who don\u2019t necessarily have a place they truly call home. He is Polish by blood, but bounced around the US, Sweden, Poland, and Germany before making Rotterdam his surrogate home base. But while Rotterdam is home, Trebski\u2019s social circle is made up most of internationals rather than local Dutch people.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my IBA days I sort of divided the student body into three different factions: Internationals, local Dutch people, and Dutch Internationals. The few Dutch friends that I have are also internationals who have spent time out of the country or attended international school, except for this one guy from my masters. His name is Bob\u2014of course.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before anything more can be said, an inebriated Sparta fan standing next to Trebski suddenly projectile vomits on the concrete below.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is so savage\u201d, said Trebski while shaking his head, unable to contain his laughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyway, it\u2019s too easy to get stuck in a social circle within one study. I did IBA, and it always felt like it\u2019s the one faculty that gets the most revenue, is the most reputable, and is most favoured in a sense. I never liked that we were treated like some privileged, special type of student.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t agree with this sort of coddling of IBA students and the fact that IBA is put on a totem. It bothers me because when you meet people from other studies, they already have this preconceived idea of you and they put you into this IBA-mold. It doesn\u2019t need to be like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second half<\/h2>

Celebratory beers were soaring above the away section just minutes after the second half got underway when Sparta nicked the first goal of the game. The lead wouldn\u2019t last long, however, with Feyenoord\u2019s Steven Berghuis knotting the score at one goal apiece. Minutes later, Sparta\u2019s striker snuck the ball between the legs of the keeper and reclaimed the lead\u2014much to the surprise of everyone. With fifteen minutes to go, the scoreboard read Feyenoord 1 \u2013 Sparta 2.<\/p>\n

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The derby was an absolute nail-biter. <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIvar Laanen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

It was 19 years ago since Sparta last won in De Kuip. Before that victory, there had also been a 19-year gap between their last victory in Rotterdam Zuid. Would the trend continue?<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a sucker for superstitious stuff like this,\u201d Trebski admitted. \u201cC\u2019mon boys!\u201d<\/p>\n

The sucker punch<\/h2>

Sparta supporters were in seventh heaven as the clock kept ticking, bathing in the clear frustration of the Feyenoord faithful. And then it happened: with just one minute remaining, Feyenoord somehow scored a scrappy goal to tie the game<\/a>\u2014providing a proverbial sucker punch to the away section. The match may have ended in a draw, but it felt like a loss considering just how close Sparta was to tasting glory. Even Trebski, who was at his first Sparta match, looked deflated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI usually support Arsenal Football Club so I\u2019m used to teams giving it away like this,\u201d Trebski admitted after the final whistle blew. \u201cStill, I\u2019m crushed. We were better than Feyenoord.\u201d<\/p>\n

Notice the use of the word we. <\/em>It seems this Polish international feels one with Sparta Rotterdam.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yeah. After today, Sparta is my club.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t