Ask the average American to name a volleyball player and they’ll hem and haw for a while before asking if Maverick and Goose count:)
In Poland, it’s the exact opposite. Volleyball (siatkówka) is a national obsession, which is why this month’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championships drew over a half-million fans, including 62,000 for the opening game in Warsaw’s national stadium. There was a sellout crowd in attendance to watch the upstart Polish team try to take down three-time defending champion Brazil on Sunday. It was estimated that 15 million Polish people were watching Sunday’s final, which would be about 39% of the country’s population. (In comparison, about 35% of the United States — 111 million viewers — watched last year’s Super Bowl.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_BmzDN6iYc#t=236
Poland won it’s only other men’s volleyball title in 1974, and then took Olympic gold (olimpijskie złoto) in 1976.
It was Poland’s seventh consecutive win (siódme z rzędu zwycięstwo) in the tournament where they compiled an 11-1 win-loss record, while Brazil failed in their attempt to be the first nation to win four consecutive crowns.
The victory of the home team put an end to the string of three consecutive titles won by Brazil starting in 2002 in Buenos Aires and continuing in 2006 in Japan and 2010 in Italy.
It was the second gold medal for Poland in the history of the event which was inaugurated in 1949, with the previous one accomplished forty years ago when the competition took place in Mexico in 1974.
In front of a crowd of more than 12,000 spectators at the Spodek Hall of Katowice, Poland, Mateusz Mika led the victory with 22 points, followed by the consistent Mariusz Wlazły who contributed 14 points. Michał Winiarski and Piotr Nowakowski chipped in with 13 and 10, respectively.
Outside of the arena, located in the heart on the city of Katowice, around 15,000 followed the action showed on several giant screens.
Wallace de Souza and Ricarado Lucarelli Santos finished with 18 points apiece for Brazil, while Lucas Saatkamp added 15, including eight blocks.
Poland also claimed the silver medal in 2006 when the quadrennial tournament was held in Japan. They lost 3-0 the final encounter with Brazil.
It was the second defeat of Brazil during the competition both at the hands of Poland with the previous one a 3-2 decision on Sept. 16 during the third round.
The entire tournament shattered attendance records. A recorded 563,263 watched the 103 matches from Aug. 30 through Sunday, about 240,000 more than the previous mark set in Italy in 2010.
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
