Irish Soccer Fans Damage a Car, Try to Pay for It, Then Fix It Themselves
There’s nothing like major sporting events to split fans apart. Already, there have been several incidents of football/soccer hooliganism throughout the Euro 2016 tournament, including violent clashes between England and Russia supporters that ended only when the French police brought out the tear gas.
Fortunately, on the other end of the spectrum, we’ve had the Irish who over the last few weeks have been reminding us that the spirit of soccer and sportsmanship is to bring us together—through drunken antics and good-natured mischief, naturally.
Most recently, a group of Irish soccer fans were seen crowded around a car whose roof they had, presumably, accidentally dented. Instead of ignoring the damage, they first tried to push money into the crack between the door and the car. A few moments later, a chant began rolling through the crowd: Fix the caaaar… for the boys in green. They started hitting the part of the car that wasn’t dented and, lo and behold, the dented portion popped up.
If only this happened every time someone damaged your car.
One more community service deed accomplished. Of course, they proceeded to spill beer all over the car in their celebration, but we’re sure the owner won’t mind too much when he finds a bunch of Euro bills crammed into his door.
That’s not the only charming Irish story of the Euro 2016, either. Irish fans have been spotted just about everywhere making the world a better place: they collectively sang a lullaby to a French baby on the subway, shamed a fellow Irishman into getting down from a traffic light by singing “Are you English in disguise?”, told Swedish fans during the Ireland vs. Sweden match to “go home to your sexy wives,” and even cleaned up after themselves after a game while singing “clean up for the boys in green.”
If only everyone were just a bit more like the Irish. It seems to qualify, one only requires a green shirt, a beer in one hand, and the ability to spontaneously break into song.
The kindest possible way of telling someone to leave.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.