Now before I get started let me make one thing clear. I think the Green Army are (as the

young folk would say) AMAZEBALLS. The stories of people who took the time and money (neither of which anyone has) to follow the team to Poland are fantastic.
I’ve never seen anything like last night! 1 nil, 2 nil, in my lady’s chamber nil….. the singing just got louder! They never stopped. At one stage I thought to mysef.. “WHY are the Spanish fans singing The Fields of Athenry?” I just couldn’t imagine that the Irish fans were still singing.
Unbelievable loyalty and commitment.

But really…. (and here’s where I might get in to trouble  – remember my opening statement now!)
Was no one just a LITTLE bit scarleh that the Irish just kept singing….?

I wonder if it’s time to concede that our Euro glory days are over – in every way.
I lived in the UK from 1999 to 2007 and I remember the disdain for most things Europe that was around. The impression I got was that Britons didn’t want Europe! They didn’t want the currency, the ‘Brussels bureaucrats’ and they didn’t want their money either.
I just laughed it off… What I was hearing from home was…we’ll take their money AND their currency thank you! We’ll have their grants and if the farmers have to reduce the production milk, butter n beef well they’ll just have to buck up their ideas and get on board or get out of the way!!!!

And I was all… YEAH!!! and while we’re at it… no dissing the Eurovision thanks very much… we haven’t won it as much as usual but Europe still loves us. The mention of Jonny Logan and Niamh Kavanagh still get us into the Eurovision VIP lounges. and anyway…. any group with a good fiddler can claim to be PRACTICALLY Irish!!!

Man alive are those days over!

And football….? well I know we throw our eyes to heaven and tut like disgruntled teenagers when the English mention 1966, but it’s recent enough to feel totally justified in using Italia ’90 to hope for glory days to come back again!

Isn’t it?

Now don’t get me wrong. I ‘m not agreeing with Roy Keane. (Heaven forefend the arrival of THAT day.) I don’t think we need to change our attitude to the fans and their making a celebration of it all no matter what! (remember my opening statement now!) But I think we the fans, need to change our attitude. (Don’t even get me started on the photo of the so called “HERO” and and Croatian boob!)

Can I suggest we need to change our attitude to the team? I think the team are very lucky not to have been BOO’d off the pitch! They don’t actually deserve the response they got last night. It was great to see on Twitter all the reposonses to the Irish fans singing. But it was mainly from Irish people. The non Irish were kinda bewildered at the reaction.

“Do they think Ireland are WINNING 4-0????”

“That’s what happens to the Irish after a week on the beer”

You know it actually kinda reminded me of my concerns about the Irish mindset when we voted Bertie back in, in the middle of a tribunal?!?!?!!?!!?!? Olé Olé Olé Olé Ber-teeeeee Ber-teeeee. But as I don’t vote (well not often and here’s why…) I have been told I have no right to comment on politics. #apparantly
It doesn’t matter anyway cos I know precious little about politics; or football. I claim limited knowledge of Euro-pop… But I am Irish and I think I recognise things I can be proud of.

And last night’s football match just didn’t do it for me!

Having said that I’m immensely proud of the Green Army…. remember my opening statement now!!