In Mannheim’s Rhein-Neckar-Stadion everyone knows Patrick Thomas. Children want autographs, young people want selfies, and he does both in a good mood and with pleasure. And the adults in the stands also agree that he’s a big one, a really big one, maybe even better than his father Dieter, who they thought was the greatest, even if it’s difficult to compare, of course, because he Sport has changed significantly over the past few decades.
Patrick Thomas plays fistball and is, without exaggeration, the outstanding player of the moment. Worldwide. He’s someone who, with his strength, his athleticism, has taken the entire game to a new level. Someone who can easily accelerate the ball to more than 100 kilometers per hour with his bare fist and yet, despite his 1.99 meter height, has retained remarkable mobility and speed. In this combination, you will look in vain for these qualities elsewhere. He has won almost every title with the German national team in recent years. It was similar with his club, TSV Pfungstadt from Hesse. Patrick Thomas, 31 years old, is an absolutely exceptional athlete. Someone who has dedicated his whole life to this one, “his” sport. And yet, when he leaves the Rhein-Neckar Stadium and with it the fistball world, which has pitched its tents for the World Cup in Mannheim this week, he becomes a completely normal person. job, girlfriend, family. No more autographs, no selfies, in general: hardly any recognition.