It wasn't Fearghal Sharkey, Norman Whiteside or Colin Clarke that got me into supporting Northern Ireland. It was my Dad. My Dad, Joe Blair is a veteran of over 200 Northern Ireland matches down the years. He dare not count them, but in the past 50 years he'd only miss a home game in an emergency.
Van Morrison once had a quote "Back on top again".
When I travelled to the Faroes islands to watch the Northern Ireland match my father wasn't there but we had fun and we knew we could win. We weren't so bothered about the result, it was the idea that we were there in support. We loved the country and watching the soccer matches was a marvellous way to show our support for this country. Times were so exciting!
"We love the country so much" - Northern Ireland fans
My previous three away matches before this one were all defeats, and we didn't even score in any of them! I wrote about my Azerbaijan 2-0 Northern Ireland and Turkey 1-0 Northern Ireland experiences before. Good times, but bad results. It's an up and down match and time supporting Northern Ireland. The days and nights are crazy following the team as we are unpredictable.
"Here we go, oh, drinking all over the world" - Status Quo Tweaked by the GAWA
We daren't expect anything. A 0-0 with Romania in June (which I watched in Hong Kong with Roger from Bushmills) set us up nicely, win in the Faroe Islands and we could be top of the group. Oh really? Aye - but this is Norn Iron. We're the best and worst team to follow emotion wise.
Some of us arrived in Sorvagur by bus into the Faroe Islands. From a little guesthouse there, it was a bus to the capital city where the rest of the GAWA (the Green and White Army) were meeting and partying ahead of the big match. Everything was marvellous and there was singing and flag displaying in the Cafe Nature in Torshavn. This place was bouncing and the fans looked really lively. It was incredible.
The usual crowd was here in force - all partying in either Cafe Natur or Glitnir bar. It's like a community of followers when you support Northern Ireland. It's all a bit crazy. The fans like Toddy, Glenda, Shaun Schofield, Jonny Blair, Karen Turkington, Sinti, they were all here to party in Toshavn. It was five years ago that La La Lafferty had bagged a goal in a 1-1 draw, at the time that was a shock result.
On the music decks was Jim Rainey who was there in 1982 when Northern Ireland shocked the football world. A lad called Justin from Ballyclare spun the decks with Moby Andrew Milliken in the bar round the corner and these Ulster boys were here to party. These are the same fans that have supported the team for years and years.
"It's the Ulster boys making all the noise everywhere we go" - Northern Ireland fans
It was time for the big match and we don't win many away matches - the home wins are important, but it is the away wins that are the clinchers. In the 1980s we beat Romania 1-0 and then even got a 0-0 draw in England, which are really good results and helped our qualification for the World Cup.
"I still love you the girl from Ards" - Tim Wheeler
Van Morrison once had a quote "Back on top again".
When I travelled to the Faroes islands to watch the Northern Ireland match my father wasn't there but we had fun and we knew we could win. We weren't so bothered about the result, it was the idea that we were there in support. We loved the country and watching the soccer matches was a marvellous way to show our support for this country. Times were so exciting!
"We love the country so much" - Northern Ireland fans
My previous three away matches before this one were all defeats, and we didn't even score in any of them! I wrote about my Azerbaijan 2-0 Northern Ireland and Turkey 1-0 Northern Ireland experiences before. Good times, but bad results. It's an up and down match and time supporting Northern Ireland. The days and nights are crazy following the team as we are unpredictable.
"Here we go, oh, drinking all over the world" - Status Quo Tweaked by the GAWA
We daren't expect anything. A 0-0 with Romania in June (which I watched in Hong Kong with Roger from Bushmills) set us up nicely, win in the Faroe Islands and we could be top of the group. Oh really? Aye - but this is Norn Iron. We're the best and worst team to follow emotion wise.
Some of us arrived in Sorvagur by bus into the Faroe Islands. From a little guesthouse there, it was a bus to the capital city where the rest of the GAWA (the Green and White Army) were meeting and partying ahead of the big match. Everything was marvellous and there was singing and flag displaying in the Cafe Nature in Torshavn. This place was bouncing and the fans looked really lively. It was incredible.
The usual crowd was here in force - all partying in either Cafe Natur or Glitnir bar. It's like a community of followers when you support Northern Ireland. It's all a bit crazy. The fans like Toddy, Glenda, Shaun Schofield, Jonny Blair, Karen Turkington, Sinti, they were all here to party in Toshavn. It was five years ago that La La Lafferty had bagged a goal in a 1-1 draw, at the time that was a shock result.
On the music decks was Jim Rainey who was there in 1982 when Northern Ireland shocked the football world. A lad called Justin from Ballyclare spun the decks with Moby Andrew Milliken in the bar round the corner and these Ulster boys were here to party. These are the same fans that have supported the team for years and years.
"It's the Ulster boys making all the noise everywhere we go" - Northern Ireland fans
It was time for the big match and we don't win many away matches - the home wins are important, but it is the away wins that are the clinchers. In the 1980s we beat Romania 1-0 and then even got a 0-0 draw in England, which are really good results and helped our qualification for the World Cup.
"I still love you the girl from Ards" - Tim Wheeler
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