A 1-0 victory over Cardiff in the Championship on Saturday left Sunderland fans in a merry mood. On sighting the chairman - christened Saint Niall for rekindling fortunes at the Stadium of Light - the fans, to the tune of Here We Go, belted out: "Niall Quinn's disco pants are the best. They go up from his arse to his chest. They're better than Adam and the Ants. Niall Quinn's disco pants."
When they continued singing on the plane, easyJet called the police. Some fans were ejected and the flight was cancelled after missing its take-off slot. Quinn and some of his staff had been aboard, while the players had caught an earlier flight.
Around 100 Sunderland supporters were stuck at the airport until Quinn ordered taxis for everybody. One fan said: "It must have cost a fortune but it shows again that he's the most decent bloke in football. I can't think of a single chairman or a single club that would do something like that for its fans ... everyone thanks him from the bottom of their hearts."
The former Ireland international had his disco pants immortalised when he played for Manchester City - released as a single, the song peaked at No 56 in the UK singles chart in April 1999.
It is not Quinn's first act of generosity. In 2002 he donated the proceeds of his testimonial match between Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland to charity. Quinn, who played for both teams during the match, received an MBE. Instead of an appearance fee for the game, all the players received a letter from a sick child.
No comments:
Post a Comment