""In Mannheim we were welcomed with open arms, but when we played in other rinks, not so much even though other teams had their own Canadians," Kreis told DW. "One night in Rosenheim a fan was really giving it to me in the warmup. I went over and asked him if he also swore at Karl Friesen [Rosenheim's Canadian-born goalie] like that. He didn't say another word.""
"Like Friesen, Kreis, a defenseman, quickly became a mainstay of the West German national team, and he was on the initial roster to make his Olympic debut at the 1980 Games in Lake Placid but was dropped at the last minute due to a technicality regarding his West German passport. It's something that he laughs off these days, but he still finds the whole thing a bit "strange.""
Harold Kreis arrived in Germany at 19 as part of a 1978 influx of Canadian players recruited to make newly promoted Mannheim competitive. Several newcomers were eligible for West German passports, which provoked hostility from some fans in away rinks. Kreis faced heckling, once confronting a Rosenheim supporter who had berated him during warmups. He became a regular for West Germany, was initially named to the 1980 Olympic roster but dropped due to a passport technicality, and went on to play 18 seasons with Mannheim and make 180 national-team appearances, including at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics.
Read at www.dw.com
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