Paul Fennessy reports from Lille
AFTER A LONG day of travelling from Versailles and covering press conferences at the Lille media centre ahead of the pivotal Ireland-Italy game, we arrive at our newly rented apartment replete with several heavy suitcases in tow to the sounds of a familiar song…
“Na na na na na na na na na na na na, na na na na na na na na na na na.”
Yes, it was ‘Shane Long’s on Fire,’ which you may remember from such similar theme songs as ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’ and ‘Jamie Vardy’s on Fire.’
It is, of course, the quintessential football fan music, with its catchy tune and impossible-to-forget lyrics.
And the Irish fans have really taken it to heart. Five hours after our arrival and into early hours of the morning, they’re still singing it. I’m pretty sure they’ve never stopped.
There’s an episode of the TV show Curb Your Enthusiasm where a nanny who has spent far too long working at the Six Flags Magic Mountain Looney Tunes Lodge starts to become genuinely demented whenever she hears the Looney Tunes song for the millionth time.
I know how that nanny feels right now, as it’s as if that blasted Shane Long song is repeatedly being played on a loop into my bedroom window.
Many people are understandably sick of hearing about how great Irish fans are and I was too to a degree admittedly, but there’s nothing like staying virtually on the doorstep of the main square in Lille where half of Ireland seems to be congregating to renew your enthusiasm for what is rapidly becoming a national pastime — Irish people used to travel on pilgrimages in numbers, now they go to major tournaments.
“It’s a pity your team is shit,” one French journalist tells The42. “Because your fans are the best.”
There are, of course, downsides to these celebrations. One of the first things I see when going for a wander around the place is several people in Ireland jerseys urinating against a wall.
There are also cans and bottles of alcohol virtually everywhere you look and as the evening wears on, you start to fear for the safety of the many who stumble in semi-consciousness around a city with which they have little to no familiarity.
Bemused locals stare from their windows above, not quite comfortable with the fact that their homes have been invaded for a few hours by a green army united in their love of football, beer and song.
Yet there is also a sense of romanticism about it all. The Irish supporters are viewed though the eyes of the French and many others as unique, for the sheer joy they bring to these occasions.
Regardless of what skeptics may think, it’s not something you need a few drinks to enjoy — not a drop of alcohol has touched my lips since I’ve been here and I can’t help but feel swept up by the experience as much as anyone else.
And despite all the aforementioned misgivings, there is a genuinely special feeling in the air. There is a warm, positive vibe around the place that feels incredibly rare. People go on holidays to escape the pressures of reality, but when thousands of them go away at once to the same area, the location in itself turns into a kind of escapist fantasy.
Less than a week after the ugly scenes between England and Russia supporters in this very same city, police now stand idly by, smiling to themselves, as Irish fans’ exuberance turns the city into a kind of temporary heaven.
Again, you may roll your eyes and think ‘not another article about the bleedin’ fans,’ and I hate to be one of those people who say ‘you really had to be there,’ but you really do have to be here. There are some things a silly viral video can’t quite convey.
And the essence of what it means to be an Irish soccer follower and what it means to be a football supporter in general has been captured by these thousands of buoyant fans intent on having the time of their lives.
The42 is on Snapchat! Tap the button below on your phone to add!
