Will Grigg creates a Bohemian Rhapsody in Paris

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you will know it is established to record the road to the FA Cup final at Wembley in May 2017 from Scotland and the intention is to convert the blog into a book at the end of the season. So, this post will probably not appear in the book. However, as I am writing a blog about football it would be remiss of me not to report on my experiences of the last few days. I am just back from Paris where I had the privilege of watching Northern Ireland play Germany in the Parc Des Princes in Euro 2016 – not the FA Cup I know but Will Grigg did play his first ever senior game of football in the FA Cup - for Stratford Town against Hednesford on September 15^th 2007. More about Will later.

I have a great friend called Derek Poots who hails from Belfast who I know from the old debauched days in Edinburgh in the early 80s. Derek somehow managed to acquire 6 tickets for this match. Derek now lives in Sussex had to call off at short notice so I travelled to Paris to spend two days with four guys who I hardly knew; two of his brothers, his son and his best pal. I had a great time – these guys were great company. The atmosphere in bohemian Paris was superb with the Parisiens welcoming football supporters from all nations. The city was full of people walking around with replica football shirts on greeting each other warmly in the streets, shaking hands and general bonhomie was in the air. The TV news footage of tear gas, water canon and rampant hooliganism that I had seen before flying out was at odds with what I was seeing with my own eyes. For the couple of days I was in Paris Germany, Iceland, Austria and of course Northern Ireland were in town. All were welcomed with the Ulstermen (and women) and the Icelandics getting a particularly warm reception from the locals. The bars were full, the spirits were high and the beer was drunk.

The main story of the match and of the two days however is Will Grigg. Will Grigg is a journeyman footballer who plies his trade as a centre forward for Wigan Athletic in League Two. Before joining Wigan Athletic he played for those giants of English football Walsall, Brentford and MK Dons. His connections to Northern Ireland are not entirely obvious from a quick scan of Google search results. For example, his Wikipedia page reports that he was born and went to school in Solihull in the West Midlands. Other internet sites report that he was born into an Aston Villa supporting family. It appears that Grigg qualifies to play for Northern Ireland through the grandparents rule. His record for his adopted country is not very impressive. He has been used sparingly since making his debut in June 2012 and has amassed only 8 caps scoring only 1 goal in four years. Many reports suggest that he was fortunate to be selected for the Northern Ireland squad for the Euros. To date, after the three group games have been completed, he has yet to make an appearance. He has not been selected for any of the starting line ups and he has not made an appearance as substitute. Yet despite all this he has become the most eulogised and sung-about player in the whole of the Euros. The Northern Irish anthem has become “Will Grigg’s on fire” a song that smacks of eccentric tomfoolery that you just have to love.

Only last month a Wigan Athletic supporter clad in a Wigan replica top and with a tambourine in his hand, turned on his web cam in his bedroom and recorded two very amateurish musical tributes to his hero Will Grigg. The first part of the now famous Youtube clip is an amended rendition of Alicia Keys’ This Girl is on Fire. This effort has not caught fire but his second attempt, a version of the Dance Classic ‘Freed from Desire’, has gone viral. The clip has to be watched (trust me) and has attracted 1.4 million views thus far. It can be found via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUlSmCGj1r8 As you will see the lyrics “Freed from Desire – Mind and Senses Purified” have been replaced by “Will Grigg’s on fire – Your Defence is Terrified” – genius. Now fast forward six weeks and you have the chant being the main song essayed by the Northern Ireland Supporters. This is what I saw on Tuesday evening. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQFxKGfHbPs The clip is great and gives a flavour of what it was like to be there but does not fully do the Northern Irish fans justice. This chant was repeated continuously for 9 minutes in the second half of the match – the place was literally bouncing. It goes something like this:

Oooohhhh …..  Oohhhhh ….. OOhhhhh  ….. OOOOOhhhhh

(4 bars accompanied by rhythmic hand clapping)

Will Grigg’s on fire

Your Defence is Terrified

Will Grigg’s on fire

Your Defence is Terrified

Will Grigg’s on fire

Your Defence is Terrified

Will Grigg’s on fire

OOOh (pause)

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na

(the na na na’s have to be accompanied by a flailing of the arms in a paddle motion)

Repeat the whole process for several minutes. Please do try this at home – you won’t regret it.

The match was great. Germany played well but could not get the ball in the net more than once. The Ulstermen fought hard and made it difficult for the Germans and the match finished 1-0. When the match was over the Northern Irish fans initially started singing “We’re not going home” as an acknowledgement that a narrow defeat was probably enough for them to qualify for the next round. Then a collective thought seemed to be transmitted round 20000 fans. ‘Perhaps we don’t need to go back to our temporary homes yet’. So they stayed and they sang one song over and over again – yes, you guessed it, Will Griggs on Fire! After 30 minutes the stewards had given up any hope of moving the fans on and started to take selfies with them. Then a moment of unexpected hospitality by the French hosts. They started playing the original ‘Freed by Desire’ over the PA system so that the fans could join in. The karaoke sub titles appeared at the bottom of the screen and someone had helpfully changed the chorus to text to ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire your defence is terrified”. German supporters had walked round to the Irish end and were joining in. We eventually left the ground 45 minutes after the final whistle with thousands still in the ground giving Will the big Up. We visited a few bars before turning in and ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire’ was the only song in town. My last memory of Tuesday evening was lying in my bed at about 0130 and hearing 8 Austrians and 5 Germans in the bar over the road singing ‘Vill Griggs on Fire’.

On Saturday Northern Ireland will play Wales in the round of the last sixteen. I can only imagine that maybe the earth will explode if Will Grigg comes on a substitute.