1 Liga Polska
Stadion GKS Katowice
October 27. 2018
GKS Katowice is also a club I can distinctly remember from the 90s. I had a friend's friend who supported them and that was the first time I heard about Silesian Metropolis and multiple rivalries within. Since then the fortunes of the team waned but they started their ascend from the lower leagues and are now playing in the Polish second tier.
Strangely enough I have never been to Katowice. Looks like all my friends were there before, either attending some concerts (Depeche Mode and The Cure play there regularly) or OFF Festival. It's also a European hub for Wizzair. Anyway, I had a very different picture of the city in my head. I found it bustling, modern and much bigger than I anticipated. Yes, it had a lot of gray Soviet architecture but it did not look drab or at least I did not feel that way. Unfortunately the weather was awful and it rained the entire day.
GKS is a miners' team similar to Shakhtar, so now wonder they are not really relevant anymore along with their Silesian counterparts from Chorzov or Zabrze. To this day Silesia has the most league titles than any other region of Poland. Well, I know that it's a different picture for Shakhtar, but they have nothing to do with mining or even Donbass anymore.
GKS plays at the eponymous stadium which, in fact, lies in Chorzov (technically a different city). It used to be much bigger but one of the stands was demolished and a small temporary stand for visitors was erected in its place. But really it only has 2 stands - one main stand for everybody and the opposite stand, housing GKS ultras. I really enjoyed the stadium, there was something real and gritty about it. I know that there should be modernization and reconstruction, but I'm afraid that the stadium will lose its charm because of that. I think I was sold a ticket to the family area in the main stand as there were too many kids around me. \
Warta Poznan are a really small team and there were just visitors. Maybe that's why fans were so outraged with the course of the game and the result. Warta scored 2 goals in the first half and managed to hold on to the result. GKS Ultras tried to support their team but even tthey were clearly dissatisfied with the game. I found it curious that the ultras also chanted the names of their friends - Gornik Zabrze and Banik Ostrava. They even sold Bank scarves at the little merch stand.
I really enjoyed my time at GKS and in Katowice in general. I will definitely be back to see other Silesian football clubs.
Stadion GKS Katowice
October 27. 2018
GKS Katowice is also a club I can distinctly remember from the 90s. I had a friend's friend who supported them and that was the first time I heard about Silesian Metropolis and multiple rivalries within. Since then the fortunes of the team waned but they started their ascend from the lower leagues and are now playing in the Polish second tier.
Strangely enough I have never been to Katowice. Looks like all my friends were there before, either attending some concerts (Depeche Mode and The Cure play there regularly) or OFF Festival. It's also a European hub for Wizzair. Anyway, I had a very different picture of the city in my head. I found it bustling, modern and much bigger than I anticipated. Yes, it had a lot of gray Soviet architecture but it did not look drab or at least I did not feel that way. Unfortunately the weather was awful and it rained the entire day.
GKS is a miners' team similar to Shakhtar, so now wonder they are not really relevant anymore along with their Silesian counterparts from Chorzov or Zabrze. To this day Silesia has the most league titles than any other region of Poland. Well, I know that it's a different picture for Shakhtar, but they have nothing to do with mining or even Donbass anymore.
GKS plays at the eponymous stadium which, in fact, lies in Chorzov (technically a different city). It used to be much bigger but one of the stands was demolished and a small temporary stand for visitors was erected in its place. But really it only has 2 stands - one main stand for everybody and the opposite stand, housing GKS ultras. I really enjoyed the stadium, there was something real and gritty about it. I know that there should be modernization and reconstruction, but I'm afraid that the stadium will lose its charm because of that. I think I was sold a ticket to the family area in the main stand as there were too many kids around me. \
Warta Poznan are a really small team and there were just visitors. Maybe that's why fans were so outraged with the course of the game and the result. Warta scored 2 goals in the first half and managed to hold on to the result. GKS Ultras tried to support their team but even tthey were clearly dissatisfied with the game. I found it curious that the ultras also chanted the names of their friends - Gornik Zabrze and Banik Ostrava. They even sold Bank scarves at the little merch stand.
I really enjoyed my time at GKS and in Katowice in general. I will definitely be back to see other Silesian football clubs.
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