enemies of the state, but all enemies of the state are Union fans." But the fact that people supported Union Berlin did not automatically mean that they were against the state. Union Berlin got a lot of sympathy as the weaker club. There was a simple rule in East German football, where the least privileged club got the most sympathy. Supporters of Union Berlin cultivated the image of their club as the eternal underdog. Clashes between the supporters of the two teams became increasingly common in the 1970s. Union Berlin had one of the most notorious followings in East Germany at this time. The supporters of Union Berlin often went to away matches in large numbers. Fights were initially won by the supporters of Union Berlin. They were in the clear majority and could chase the supporters of BFC Dynamo from the streets. A punch in the face and a stolen scarf was an experience for many young supporters of BFC Dynamo at this time. But BFC Dynamo gained more and more young supporters with its growing successes in the late 1970s. Many came from working-class families in Prenzlauer Berg. The supporters of BFC Dynamo would eventually begin to appear extremely well organized and began to fight back in the early 1980s. The tide now turned and the supporters of BFC Dynamo would win all fights between the supporters of the two teams from now on. Derbies at the Stadion der Weltjugend usually ended with a couple of hundred supporters of BFC Dynamo chasing the supporters of Union Berlin along Chausseestraße down towards the Friedrichsstrasse S-Bahn station. The fights often continued on the side streets of Friedrichstraße. Union Berlin is sometimes portrayed as having been an opponent of the East German system and derbies between BFC Dynamo and Union Berlin during the East German era have been hyped as some kind of domestic political showdown. But Union Berlin was mostly just a club struggling against unfavorable conditions. The club was disadvantaged by the state sports politics compared to local rival BFC Dynamo. Honorary President of Union Berlin Günter Mielis has said: "Union was not a club of resistance fighters, but we had to fight against a lot of political and economic resistance over and over again. We got strength from our fans". However, Union Berlin would eventually become known for a supporter scene that was anti-establishment, where dissidents could vent