Regards from Poland

Samich

Randy Anders wrote: »

Nothing incorrect about it, but you'd be better of discussing that in the soccer forum no? The person who signed on just wanted to make a nice friendly gesture about our fans over in Poland and you went off on one about LOI. I doubt he gives two ****s about our league setup, I'd say he's just happy to see lots of nice Irish people having the craic in his country

He said something about great fans.

Mad for cheap drink more like.

TeddyTedson

Samich wrote: »

The people who thanked yer mans post are like the ones singing out in Poland.

Ones who are like "I'm so proud to be Irish, some foreigners think we're great"

I can't decide weather I liked it or not still.

Randy Anders

Samich wrote: »

He said something about great fans.

Mad for cheap drink more like.

They were great fans though. Sang their hearts out at every game, thats what supporters do. Would you rather them stand in the crowd being miserable aul shites?

Some people are far too cynical when it comes to supporting the international team

IrishAm

Mr.Crinklewood wrote: »

Explained the "Why" already. Again please point out the inaccuracies in my post.

I am a regular at LoI games. Been to a few Ireland games too. Mostly support the national team from a barstool. One thing I know though, is that sniping at non LoI attendees, won't exactly endear them to the league.

Bringing this up on a thread were a lad from a Poland signed up just to express his gratitude for Irish fans, definitely won't.

Soccer/Association Football/Football is the most played sport on this island. Just because someone supports Manchester United over Monaghan United, does not make them less a Soccer/Association Football/Football fan.

This lad signed up to give us a compliment. Lets take it and wish him well.

Why do Irish people consistently need to run each other down at every given opportunity?

Its depressing.

Samich

Randy Anders wrote: »

They were great fans though. Sang their hearts out at every game, thats what supporters do. Would you rather them stand in the crowd being miserable aul ****es?

No doubt locked. Ever go to a houseparty, fellas do be roaring singing at the end of the night.

They aren't great fans, why is the Aviva dead on most occasions?

Mr.Crinklewood

Randy Anders wrote: »

Nothing incorrect about it, but you'd be better of discussing that in the soccer forum no? The person who signed on just wanted to make a nice friendly gesture about our fans over in Poland and you went off on one about LOI. I doubt he gives two ****s about our league setup, I'd say he's just happy to see lots of nice Irish people having the craic in his country

The OP referenced "football fans" therefore the reference to football.

This is exactly why I made my point about the "football fans".

The people that travelled were fantastic ambassadors for Ireland, I'm not doubting that. Perhaps this should be moved to the travel forum.

RoundyMooney

Samich wrote: »

They aren't great fans, why is the Aviva dead on most occasions?

Because soccer competes with two other mainstream sports (three if you count GAA as two) and the population base cannot support all three.

When you consider that, and the amount of volunteerism and dedication that goes into the local pursuit of hurling, football, soccer, and rugby, across the length and breadth of the country, you can see why the LOI, and soccer in general suffers.

We could try a couple of things-actually get a manager that supports the youths, the local clubs, instead of one that flies in for a couple of weeks a year with Manuela, pockets the couple of million, babbles a few incomprehensible phrases, and disappears again. Get rid of John Delaney, who is a soulless accountant rather than an incisive personality at the head of the FAI.

For now, we could take a welcome compliment with good grace, thank Mateusz for taking the time to come and say hi, and leave the nitpicking to another time.

Muff_Daddy

Samich wrote: »

The people who thanked yer mans post are like the ones singing out in Poland.

Ones who are like "I'm so proud to be Irish, some foreigners think we're great"

You say that like there's something wrong with having a positive outlook on life.

The attitude of the fans who sang at the end of our matches is inherently better than the miserable, cynical, scornful attitudes displayed by some people in this country.

IrishAm

Samich wrote: »

The people who thanked yer mans post are like the ones singing out in Poland.

Ones who are like "I'm so proud to be Irish, some foreigners think we're great"

Some foreigners do, some foreigners do not. No skin off my nose either way.

I am proud of being Irish and wouldn't want to be born in any other nation.

Being of the same nationality as Mak, who served on difficult peace keeping missions, in warzones none of us can imagine, is one of the reasons. I am proud to be Irish because despite our "strained" history,,with the suffering and heartache, Ireland, through sheer hard work and fortitude picked itself up of its knees and educated itself so that now we can hold our heads up and feel proud of how far we have come and how well educated, both us and our children are. I am proud to be Irish as despite our ancestors being forced out of the country and to scatter to the four corners of the globe, the Irish identity remains strong. I am proud to be Irish as our own national sport is among the best in the world. Nothing beats standing in Hill 16, Croker, during Championship season. Nothing.

Getting sick and tired of the self hatred and anti Irish sentiment on these boards, to be perfectly frank.

Randy Anders

Samich wrote: »

No doubt locked. Ever go to a houseparty, fellas do be roaring singing at the end of the night.

They aren't great fans, why is the Aviva dead on most occasions?

Yeah how dare they have a few beers and enjoy themselves while supporting their national team who hadn't qualified for a major tournament in 10 years

I'm not claiming all Irish fans are great, infact I'd go as far to say that a good percentage of the people who went to Poland were ''fair weather'' supporters. But who gives a shit? It doesn't take away from the fact that they were the most vocal supports by a country mile, despite the losses on the pitch

MatMc

I understand that not all of you like this song. Maybe most of you hate it.
But we do appreciate your singing. Most of you on the forum understand this.
For those who doesn't:
I will tell you something.
You loose with Spain.
After the match we were so amazed that you were much louder than Spanish.
My friend told me: "wow... look what Irish do... that's amazing"
Polish fans after match with Chech have gone away in silence.
You don't have to like this song, but we were so surprised of this.

IrishAm

MatMc wrote: »

"Poles thank you"

Ever been to visit us here in Ireland, MatMc? Any plans?

RoundyMooney

MatMc wrote: »

I understand that not all of you like this song. Maybe most of you hate it.
But we do appreciate your singing. Most of you on the forum understand this.
For those who doesn't:
I will tell you something.
You loose with Spain.
After the match we were so amazed that you were much louder than Spanish.
My friend told me: "wow... look what Irish do... that's amazing"
Polish fans after match with Chech have gone away in silence.
You don't have to like this song, but we were so surprised of this.

Having (by accident!) spent a day and night with Polish fans in Krakow, following a friendly, of all things-I can tell you that you guys can sing drink and support just as well as we do!

I still have a Polish flag somewhere from that night...

I was sorry not to see you make it out of the group.

strobe

Samich wrote: »

The people who thanked yer mans post are like the ones singing out in Poland.

Ones who are like "I'm so proud to be Irish, some foreigners think we're great"

Or just people being polite. Some Polish lad takes the time to come onto an Irish website and says something nice about Irish people who were in his home country, so Irish people on the Irish website said thanks. That's all that happened.

Reacting in any other way would have been pig ignorant (no offense to pigs meant).

IrishAm

Randy Anders wrote: »

infact I'd go as far to say that a good percentage of the people who went to Poland were ''fair weather'' supporters.

Its the way fans are. The bigger the game, the bigger the support.

I bring me little brother to as many Dublin games as I can. Against Kerry in the All Ireland final I couldn't score him a ticket. Even through our local club. When I took him to the game versus Cork in the league final, only the Hill was full. There were circa 40,000 seats free.

Look at Manchester United, 80,000 seater stadium. Always full for big games, but its mostly full of day trippers for the CL group stages and League Cup games. Even then, its half empty. United are the most supported club in the world.

The LoI's recent glory years were the mid to late 90's. I remember begging me ma to bring me to games. Richmond Park was always sold out. I remember the massive crowd that went down to Buckley Park to see Sir Edward Gormley net and win us the league. Me and my buddies loved going to games as kids, but most of us, grew out of it. Most of the grounds simply don't have the facilities.

Once lads start earning a few quid, they no longer want to spend their Friday evenings in some two quid stadium watching hoof ball. Harsh, but true.

Micky Dolenz

This is more like it. Trolling with effort. Nice.

Now that the fuzzball is over, can we have our song back please?

IrishAm

Noah Immense Taco wrote: »

OP I've had the honour of serving with your countrymen on United Nations duty in Lebanon.

Stop. Right. There.

Thank you and fair play to you, sir.

You have my respect.

The_B_Man

MatMc wrote: »

I understand that not all of you like this song. Maybe most of you hate it.
But we do appreciate your singing. Most of you on the forum understand this.
For those who doesn't:
I will tell you something.
You loose with Spain.
After the match we were so amazed that you were much louder than Spanish.
My friend told me: "wow... look what Irish do... that's amazing"
Polish fans after match with Chech have gone away in silence.
You don't have to like this song, but we were so surprised of this.

Hi MatMc,

Thanks for the compliment!

If Ireland gets to host Euro 2018 (;)), we will welcome all the Polish people to Ireland just as the Polish people welcomed us to Poland, and then maybe you can teach us all of your songs!!

IrishAm

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

This is more like it. Trolling with effort. Nice.

Now that the fuzzball is over, can we have our song back please?

Why do you think the poster is trolling?

El Weirdo

The_B_Man wrote: »

Hi MatMc,

Thanks for the compliment!

If Ireland gets to host Euro 2018 (;)), we will welcome all the Polish people back to Ireland just as the Polish people welcomed us to Poland, and then maybe you can teach us all of your songs!!

Fixed.

IrishAm

El Weirdo wrote: »

Fixed.

In the words of the bearded one, "They haven't gone away you know!"

The census of 2011 showed us that the number of Polish citizens in Ireland has nearly doubled since the 2006 census.

jiltloop

The great ambassadors of LOI doing their work again! Trying to ruin the sentiment of a nice thread. Just go away, it's exhausting........

DEFTLEFTHAND

Excuse the cynic in me but are we all falling for an elaborate deception here?

Xavi6

Randy Anders wrote: »

they were the most vocal supports by a country mile, despite the losses on the pitch

Yep celebrating mediocrity, wonderful.

Esoteric_

Given that the OP indicated that his first name is the same as in his screen name (Mat, abbreviated), do you guys really think that 'Mc' is part of common Polish surnames?

Good ruse, OP. Better luck next time, though.

nice_very

some of you are being right miserable cnuts in this thread, WORLDWIDE this last week it has been commented on the spirit of the Irish, economy in bits, being humiliated on the pitch, yet for 20 minutes our fans sang their hearts out, to be noted that many european tv stations stopped commentary and just had the Irish fans singing for the end of the game against spain.

what a pity our govt dont show the same spirit of defiance in europe

Thanks OP I hope Poland made some money and cultural connections during euro2012

Xavi6

nice_very wrote: »

some of you are being right miserable cnuts in this thread, WORLDWIDE this last week it has been commented on the spirit of the Irish, economy in bits, being humiliated on the pitch, yet for 20 minutes our fans sang their hearts out, to be noted that many european tv stations stopped commentary and just had the Irish fans singing for the end of the game against spain.

what a pity our govt dont show the same spirit of defiance in europe

Thanks OP I hope Poland made some money and cultural connections during euro2012

And still pissing thousands up against the wall, funny that.

nice_very

Xavi6 wrote: »

And still pissing thousands up against the wall, funny that.

who? the govt or the fans that went to Poland? or both??

I am surprised at the amount of Irish that went over, very surprised.. the only reason I can think of is that for the first time, in a long time, we are (were) in a major tournament and people were excited.

there was uproar in spain when rajoy went to the Ireland game just after their announced bailout.

BTW I didnt/couldnt go as I am saving some of my dole every week to emigrate, as I have a job abroad if i can get there, so forgive me if I am proud of fellow Irishmen and women trying to lift the spirit of the nation, even if the team couldnt

Xavi6

nice_very wrote: »

who? the govt or the fans that went to Poland? or both??

I am surprised at the amount of Irish that went over, very surprised.. the only reason I can think of is that for the first time, in a long time, we are (were) in a major tournament and people were excited.

there was uproar in spain when rajoy went to the Ireland game just after their announced bailout.

BTW I didnt/couldnt go as I am saving some of my dole every week to emigrate, as I have a job abroad if i can get there, so forgive me if I am proud of fellow Irishmen and women trying to lift the spirit of the nation, even if the team couldnt

And that's fair enough, but the "woe is us" economic crisis line will only stretch so far, and using it as an excuse for forking out a few thousand quid to go to Poland on the lash for two weeks is just a bit much.

The problem is that the majority of the people over there aren't football fans, if they were we wouldn't have a piss poor domestic league with clubs folding every couple of years. These are the same people who won't turn up at the Aviva on a Wednesday because it's too cold or they have work in the morning.

The singing was great, especially the national anthem each time, but the title of "best fans in the world" which is being bestowed right, left and centre and definitely not warranted.

crustyjuggler

MatMc wrote: »

Hello,
I would like to thank football fans from Ireland.
Dear Irish people, I admire your spirit, the dignity you sang "The fields of Athenray" I'm really glad we could host you in Poznan. I'll remember the Euro 2012 because of you. Respect!
I was so happy to sing "Polska bialo-czerwoni" with you together in the Old Market.
Thank you!

best regards from Poznan
- Mateusz

Thank you for that fine post .

FanadMan

What's with all the Roy Keane clones? Our fans really did us proud - drink, sing and have fun. No rioting, just partying with the opposition fans Never mind giving the team a big homecoming - there should be thousands out to welcome home the fans!

Again - thank you all the Paddys that went out

Randy Anders

Xavi6 wrote: »

Yep celebrating mediocrity, wonderful.

Is that you, Roy?

They were out there making the most of a bad situation. What the fuck do you want them to do? Go home quiety and discuss cliched tactics with all the people on the internet. They were celebrating a great occasion, meeting new people from different countries and generally having a good time abroad ina carnival atmosphere

This was to a lot of people over there their only holiday they'll get this year, why not make the most of it?

Pedant

Poles took our women during the Boom.
Now we're taking theirs in Poland during the Recession.

What comes around goes around.

validusername1

People who argue that the only reason they were still singing was because they were only there for the craic and a sesh probably have a point, but when it comes down to it I think it just showed the spirit of Irish people.. Most do just wanna have the craic, and if singing at a match despite their team losing by 4 goals lets them do that, then why not.. I'd rather have that sort of spirit than the one of somebody who sits around giving out about how the Irish fans only sang 'cause they were there for a sesh not the football, like Roy saying they had the whole ''win, lose, we're on the booze'' attitude, as if it's such a negative thing. All that tells me about people who give out about it is that they're dry as fcuk. Lighten up.. Irish people sing despite losing - big deal. Least it puts a less depressing spin on the fact that they lost each game.

But I don't really think it's even something worth arguing about.. People have their opinions, they're not gonna change them that easily.

Doc

I don’t get the negativity at all. A Polish guy comes on and tells us all he really appreciated the way the Irish fans acted despite losing and still people can only see the negatives? People decide to save up and go away on a trip to watch Ireland play mainly to forget about the stress of everyday life at home, they support the team and enjoy themselves despite the team’s very poor performance and are criticised because they are not regular supporters? Who cares! Why do they have to be? They didn’t go and riot when the team lost they just made the best of it sang and had fun.

I'm glad that the Irish fans left that impression on MatMc and thanks for letting us know.

Lionel Messy

Is that you, mickey?

Pdfile

MatMc wrote: »

Hello,
I would like to thank football fans from Ireland.
Dear Irish people, I admire your spirit, the dignity you sang "The fields of Athenray" I'm really glad we could host you in Poznan. I'll remember the Euro 2012 because of you. Respect!
I was so happy to sing "Polska bialo-czerwoni" with you together in the Old Market.
Thank you!

best regards from Poznan
- Mateusz

messege me you're number and ill buy you a pint next time im in town,


no homo. :cool:

Hank_Jones

Strange how a friendly gesture turns into a bunch of negative arguments.

Come on now, you're showing us up in front of the foreigners.

The Polish, a great bunch of lads.

Pdfile

Hank_Jones wrote: »

The Polish, a great bunch of lads.

ive yet to meet one i dont like tbh, all have no bias or hate for the irish, granted some of them hate colin farrell for what he done to the model or whatever he had at one stage... but then again even collin farrell hates collin farrell.

the poles... Their sound.

Mr.Crinklewood

IrishAm wrote: »

Why do you think the poster is trolling?

I am sure a mod can confirm the IP address of the OP....

Mr.Crinklewood

On a serious note OP, ( assuming you are Polish ) could you please Tweet, Facebook, email this information.


The search is continuing for a 21-year-old Irish soccer fan who went missing in Poland at the weekend while out socialising with friends.
James Nolan, an environmental engineering student, from Blessington in Co Wicklow was last seen on Saturday night in Bydgoszcz, a town about 130 kilometres north east of Poznan.
His family have issued an appeal for information, saying that his failure to contact them was out of character.
Police in Poland have begun a search for him.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is helping with efforts to locate him.
Anyone with information can contact the Irish consulate in Poznan on 0048-880529105, gardaí or the Department of Foreign Affairs here on 1890-426-700.

http://m.rte.ie/news/2012/0619/missing-fan-poland.html

stovelid

Our European neighbours must have been taking happy note of our ability to take it up the ass and sing for more.

Sunnyisland

I thought it was great seeing the Irish fans singing at the matches & they brought some atmosphere to the games,Now regarding the games themselves well imo we need a whole new team to sing to :-) Time for change Time to go.

RoboRat

Jesus, reading this thread some posters think we should just have watched the match, discussed tactic and left with our heads bent in disgrace rather than shockingly singing and having a good time.

Thank God they stayed over here and the 'fun' fans went over.

Dravokivich

Jaysus, this has really turned into something I don't like about some LoI fans who shout about it so much that they make themselves heard more than the others. Cut out the snobbery that you claim is so evident in all the other sports played through out this country.

I don't see the harm in some people going over for the craic. It would of cost a lot of money for them to get there, why not make a holiday out of it and have a good time?

As shown by the OP, they've enjoyed it too. Fair play I say. I recon the "mc" came from hearing a lot of Irish with that in their names.

The Big Red Button

Mr.Crinklewood wrote: »

I am sure a mod can confirm the IP address of the OP....

Only Admins can do that, as far as I know.

Why is it so unbelievable that a Polish person might sign up to this site to leave that message? The reaction of the Irish fans was widely reported in the media.

I don't know. If the fans had booed, or left the stadium in silence after each match, etc, there'd be threads up here full of people criticising them. Or if no one had gone over to Poland except fans who had "earned" the right to be there by attending every small local match throughout the year, with the result being that the Ireland team would have had very little support in Poland, there'd be people here giving out about that too.

The fact that the reaction of the Irish fans - who acted with grace and dignity and good humour - has left a lasting positive impression on football fans throughout Europe can only be a good thing.

lo0kash

Mr.Crinklewood wrote: »

On a serious note OP, ( assuming you are Polish ) could you please Tweet, Facebook, email this information.

This is in major polish portals since yesterday, including polish digg (wykop.pl)

Jester252

Ah sure we have to be the best at something

ayeboy

The OP comes on and graciously thanks us for helping to make the occassion even better for the hosts. And some bitch and moan about it. Unbelievable. What if Ireland get to co-host the Euros as has been proposed recently. Who do we want to see come to Croker and Lansdowne...the pissed off rioter or the happy carefree person joining in what would also be our celebration (as host)?

I'd like to thank the OP for taking the time to come on here. I went over for the Spain game. The build up and after party and even that 'song' were amazing. The Poles were a pleasure to meet and party with.

I'd also like to add...we drank less over the 3 days we were there than we would normally drink on a night out here. You didn't have to...we were too busy having craic, non stop laughing and acting the ejit. Oh and I also am a big LOI fan ... Finn Harps all the way.

Can every post from now on just thank Mateusz , the rest ...jog on!

Polska bialo-czerwoni

FANTAPANTS

IrishAm wrote: »

Any yokes, bud?

lol