What It Takes to get to the EURO's - Part 2

Once upon a time I summoned the courage to count all the jerseys I had.

The number almost broke 80

That number has been reduced ever so slightly as I have tried to offload a few on eBay to raise a few euro for the Euro’s. Saving money. Four years ago I was fortunate enough to get one final government grant for college on the 1^st May. Once I paid off my outstanding bills, I had enough money to get to France. There is no such luxury this time around however. In the build-up to Euro 2012, my jersey purchases went into overdrive. I intended to have an Irish jersey for everyday of the tournament. Anything from the iconic retro tops of Euro 88 and Italia 90’s to even the latest release of the time, that abhorrent throwback that looked more like a Northern Ireland than anything else.

Although I’ve taken a calmer approach to throwing money on jerseys this time around, my fascination with them remains. I am what you would call a jersey nerd! I was always interested in them growing up but around 2010, with my own debit card and eBay account, the interest turned into an obsession. That’s why the number of jerseys in my possession almost broke 80, and why I separate them from training wear and casual wear in my wardrobe. The jersey that started the craze was a particular one. An Ireland jersey.

It was an obsession has paid off. In a competition for balls.ie last December “What’s Your Favourite Jersey”, my emotional love letter to my 1995-1996 Ireland Goalkeeper Jersey won me a €500 voucher for Lifestyle Sports. That was the jersey that started it all! It was as much a justification for the 18 months I spent looking for it to the beauty of the Jersey itself. And yes, that beautiful purple work of art will be brought to France. Along with many other Irish jerseys. The last of that Lifestyle Sports voucher was spent getting the latest Ireland home jersey. It’s not a bad effort. I was a big fan of the last two home jerseys so Umbro had a tough act to follow. However, the oversized ‘3’ logo does it no favours and will remain the case until the sponsor situation with the jersey changes. I would abhor spending any of my own money on an Ireland jersey with a sponsor. Thankfully the voucher stopped me doing that this time around. For others however, there was a massive uptake on the fakes offered through AliExpress. Credit to the lads out east, some of these fakes look pretty decent! And a damn sight cheaper than 70 euro too. The tide is turning and it won’t be long before Umbro or the FAI take note. The Chinese, a great bunch of lads!

The issue of bringing GAA jerseys abroad is contentious one amongst Irish fans. Aside from spot the culchie issue, is there really necessary to bring one? We’re here to support our country, not your county or even your parish. I would always rank Ireland before Galway or Tuam in any sport. It’s a matter of simple priority. Now I wouldn’t mind someone wearing one on non matchdays, if their county was involved in Championship action back home. This is something I have to contend with , as both Galway footballers and hurlers in action on the 18^th and 19^th June. I know I’ll definitely miss the hurling against Offaly. The other, a Connacht Semi-Final against Mayo is another one I may miss, depending on what time I get back from Bordeaux to La Rochelle. However, that falls on the same day as the Belgium game. And on match days, GAA jerseys are a no go. It’s not hard to pick up an Ireland jersey anywhere. Trust me I’d know.

Aside from my Irish attire, there’ll be the odd non football related clobber. Just to ensure I don’t get refused from the pubs. This was an issue in Glasgow, unsurprisingly, when Ireland met Scotland in qualifying. I rank that as one of the worst trips I was on. I don’t know whether that was because we lost or because I barely even got remotely drunk. I don’t need to identify myself as Irish everyday with my clothes, my beautiful accent will do that for me! There’s no need to have the entire Umbro range (or if you’re a bit older, Adidas) over there to get you through the two weeks. No harm in mixing it up now and then!

There are other essentials that come with it. The thought of bringing my laptop to help stifle those long journeys in transit did occur to me. Then the hassle of bringing it and potentiall losing it outweighed that notion. I was eyeing up some books as well. Four years ago Pepe Reina released his autobiography but the hardback version cost 25 euro. Four years later his predecessor in the Liverpool goal and my doppelganger Jerzy Dudek has released his for a similar price. I will have to forego both in order to be able to get a dinner one day in France. I do have half of Alan Stubbs’ book to get through while John Giles’ and Paul McGrath’s, two legends for Ireland, efforts will also be brought along.

My accommodation details, directions, bus transfers, train tickets, boarding passes, all necessary and hopefully accounted for. A wash bag packed with toiletries to keep me fresh throughout the two weeks as well. And the match tickets, I swear if I forget them I’ll cry. I’ll have attached to my body to ensure absolute safekeeping! I’m sure there are other essentials I’m forgetting but I haven’t started packing yet. All of this has forced me to check in bags for my flights.

And all I will say to those extra charges is go fuck yourself royally Ryanair and Wizzair!