The waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting for the big showdown between the Deutsche Bank Skyliners and the Brose Baskets Bamberg to meet had finally come to an end as the last days in Frankfurt had seemed as long as it currently is for fans waiting to see where NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony will practice his scoring soon, when new drama will hit Tila Tequila, the former star of  A shot of love concerning a new scandal tape or when Gloria Giants coach Murat Didin will finally come through with his warnings of bringing in some new players for the stretch run as he has had many players in for tryouts and had them sweating more on the court than straining their fingers for a signature on the dotted line. Not only were the fans eagerly awaiting a battle, but so were the players. “I was really excited to play this game. The first against the second team and this has become a big rivalry with both teams playing each other 10 times in the last two seasons and all the players knowing each other fairly well on both teams”, stressed Bamberg forward Kyle Hines. “We approached the game as a normal game, but inside I was pretty excited. They are a good team that is well coached and I had fun playing”, stressed Bamberg guard John Goldsberry. Kimmo Muurinen showed his iceman qualities with little emotion for the magnitude of the game. “I dont  extra excited about one certain game. It is a routine with the same preparation, but it was great playing in front of a full gym”, commented Skyliner forward Kimmo Muurinen.
The Deutsche Bank Skyliners knew that the game would not be a cake walk and the team and fans probably had the incredible unforgettable Chris Moss buzzer beater in the back of their minds and were prepared for a repeat Mucauly Culkan Kodak moment mouth wide open in shock look from the movie Home Alone against The Brose Baskets Bamberg, but instead had a sad and disappointed Culkin type of look he may have had if he had been stumped by actor Joe Peschi instead of making a fool out of the actor as he did so often in the Home Alone movies. The Brose Baskets Bamberg came out on fire and played very solid for 40 minutes giving Frakfurt their first home loss of the season 81-63. “We started off well and moved the ball very well and got open shots and hit most of them. We have so many guys that can hit 20 points each night except of me off course”, joked Bamberg guard John Goldsberry.

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Fans in Pittsburg will only have had two weeks to dream and get ready for The Super Bowl, while fans of the Northsiders Chicago Cubs have been waiting and waiting and waiting for 103 years to hoist a World Series crown and Mr Spiderman actor James Franco only has 30 days to prepare an imagery acceptance speech and wait to possibly hear his name called as the 2011 Oscar winner for best actor for the flick 127 hours, but the Deutsche Bank Skyliners also have been waiting for some sweet revenge after their early season loss in Bamberg and have been plowing by BEKO BBL teams in the Ballsporthalle as if they have been slush rather than heavy compact crust snow, but February 5th has been marked on many calendars as Frankfurt attempts to defend their home unbeaten streak and seek payback against the three time BEKO BBL champion Brose Baskets Bamberg. This game is the highlight of the current season as the two top teams of the BEKO BBL will battle and see who has made more strides on the court in the last months. A game like this has to bring out a tad more extra energy for the players. “It is always tough coming into top games and you always come out a bit more hyped. As a player you try to settle down a bit and just go in and do what you always did, because at the end of the day you have been doing it for so long and it should be natural once you step on the court and the ball is thrown up. My most difficult game had to be the national championship game that I played my senior year at Metropolitan St. (NCAA2). It seemed like the night of the game would never come. Even when I was warming up it seemed like time was standing still. As for the anxiety, once the ball went up, it was all gone, but it was tough waiting”, stressed TBB Trier guard John Bynum. The game against Bamberg will showcase the one millionth patron in the Ballsporthalle since the birth of the club in 1999 and possibly will that lucky million person be a Skyliner fan and give the team luck.

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The Deutsche Bank Skyliners basketball past in Bamberg in the last six seasons has been about as desolate as the 2007-2008 Oklahoma Thunder where they lost a franchise record 62 games, tennis pro Marat Safin losing 129 Grand Slam matches in a row before reaching a Grand Slam final or the sad demise of lovable actor Mel Gibson who was more in the headlines for his phone affairs then for his critical acting this year, but who is making an acting comeback with The Beaver, and How I spent my summer vacation soon. At times it has seemed that there has been some kind of curse on the Frankfurt club like there had been on the Boston Red Sox for 86 years and still is on the Chicago Cubs who have not won a World Series in 102 years as  2,186 days had gone by from 2004-2010 for The Deutsche Bank Skyliners not winning a game in Bamberg between game four win in 2004 and the First game of the final in 2010 as the long drought was finally broken as it was old coach/new coach Gordie Herbert that was able to win again in game one of the 2010 BEKO BBL finals 65-63. Since this thrilling win, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have had little luck losing the next three games on the road in Bamberg including game five and the 2010 Champions Cup and being outscored 254-180 in the last three games in the Jako arena. 18 days ago, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners suffered a humiliating 85-58 loss in Bamberg in the Champions Cup, but were as handicapped without center Joe Dabbert and Quantez Robertson and only one true big man with Marius Nolte like as if one small tiny sweet cat was surrounded by five hungry lions, The Boston Celtics had to play without the GAP trio of Garrnet, Allen and Pierce or character Ethan Hunt of the Mission Impossible getting through life unhurt without his slick gadgets. This time, Frankfurt travel to the pretty Bavarian city with their Bucks(Buckman/Bucknor) in their baggage, plus 51 rebounds from the ugly Duesseldorf win and about as much self confidence as former president Bill Clinton has when he is out on the town. Frankfurt had to deal with the Duesseldorf sixth man Murat Didin on Sunday and now four days later have to deal with the Bamberg sixth man their fans. “It is tough playing in Bamberg. The fans are so much into the game. It reminds me of when we played at the University of Dayton. It was sold out and loud each time. It is tough to say if the Bamberg fans are their sixth man, but for sure when you play the Artland Dragons”, joked Phoenix Hagen American Quentin Pryor. Frankfurt can only pray that the game is as quiet as at the Champions Cup, because at times one could of heard the cash registers in the supermarket basement.

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