That uneasy feeling when a team has a big lead is actually well-founded and dates back 14 years. The context: the DEL Finals series in April 2012 between the Adler Mannheim and the Eisbären Berlin, which was still played in a “best-of-five” format at the time. The Kurpfälzer were leading the series 2–1 and thus had match point at home.
Sinn, a native of Mannheim, recalls: “With 14 minutes left, Mannheim was leading 5-2; everyone was already ready to celebrate. And then Berlin came back,” he says. The Eisbären completely turned the game around, ultimately winning in overtime and securing the championship in Game 5.
The other side of the coin – again with Sinn
In the following season, the Adler unfortunately managed to hold onto a big lead all the way to the end. On October 12, 2013, Mannheim beat Munich 9-0, handing us our biggest DEL loss to date. Sinn, who was only nine years old at the time, was also at the stadium for that game—albeit in a completely different role than during the Red Bulls’ record-breaking victory nearly 13 years later. Namely, as a spectator.
“I don’t remember much about it, except that it ended 9-0. But I do remember watching the game with a friend,” recalls the now 22-year-old. “He took a photo of the score, and everyone was wondering what was going on.”
“We want to take it up a notch”
But that’s all in the past, of course; today, only the here and now matters. Sinn, who played in Mannheim’s youth system up to the U16 level, announced as early as last September, shortly before the season started: “I’m a Munich player now, and against Mannheim I’ll throw my body into the game just as hard as against any other team. I’ll probably even play extra hard against Mannheim, simply because it’s my hometown.” And that proved true after the three matchups against his former youth club in the regular season—he missed one game due to injury. “Especially now in the playoffs. We want to take it up a notch,” he promised.
