The Polish National Anthem — Mazurek D?browskiego — recalls a time when Polish General Jan Henryk D?browski and thousands of his Polish soldiers marched alongside the great Napoleon Bonaparte aiding in his conquests. The patriotic hymn serves as a reminder to Poles that they will always fight for their existence and for their pride.
On Saturday night in Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, Tomasz “Goral” Adamek played the part of General D?browski as 10,972 Polish fans flocked to the Garden State’s largest city to be by their fighter’s side. Just moments before Adamek and his opponent, “Big” Michael Grant, made their way to ring, everyone in the arena outfitted in the red and white of Adamek’s homeland partook in what was possibly the loudest rendition of Mazurek D?browskiego ever heard on this side of the Atlantic.
Saturday night did not mark my first time at the Prudential Center, nor was it my first time at an Adamek fight — or should I say, event. But as I walked around the concourse, making my way to section 128, I noticed an extra “buzz” in the building. Maybe it was because Adamek had not fought in “Brick City” since February or maybe it was because his recent victory over Chris Arreola on HBO gave his already enthusiastic fan-base a little extra excitement. But whatever the reasons were, Adamek’s Polish fans were chanting and singing louder than remembered from the moment security patted them down and the ticket scanner admitted them entrance.
Having recently attended a big fight as part of the general populous and not as a member of the media — Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz II — I immediately picked up on one essential difference in the type of crowd Adamek draws as opposed to other prizefighters (besides the obvious fact that nearly all of Adamek’s supporters are of Polish descent). What I marveled at was how many of Saturday’s fight-goers came with their families. The crowd, which banded together to create rippling sea of red and white was made up of men, women, and children of all ages. It was clear that not all of the fans were bitten by the fistic bug – not that it is a requirement to attend a fight. However, the fans Adamek attracts are proud and loyal Polish fans who have been starved of a superior athlete for quite some time and are jumping at the chance to see one of the better boxers in their countries history.
“It is not often that they [Polish fans] have an event like this,” said Max Krysztopowicz, who made the trek up from Philadelphia to watch “Goral” fight. “This is them venting.”
Call it what you will — and perhaps Krysztopowicz is right — the Poles are a deprived people when it comes to success in the world of sports. The White Eagles (Polish national soccer team) have had no worthy accomplishments of late and the country has been lacking an international superstar since Pope John Paul II. Perhaps Adamek’s fights truly are a venting of sorts for Poles, but it is a venting that I encourage all fight fans to witness and enjoy first hand.
Everything is interesting about the make-up of an Adamek event — from the diversity of the fans, with regards to age and gender, to the merchandise being sold. For the few who entered the Prudential Center without some sort of Polish scarf draped around their shoulders, Main Events was selling a half red, half white, scarf with the words “TOMASZ ‘GORAL’” on one side and “ADAMEK” on the other for twenty-five dollars.
Eventually, after taking in the sights around the concourse of “The Rock”, I rode the escalator up one level and climbed the steps to section 128.
Perched high atop “The Rock” I nestled into my seat in the last row of the arena just moments before the opening bell of the night’s first bout. Admittedly, my seat wasn’t the best to view a fight, but luckily for me, watching the crowd throughout the night was equally as entertaining as some of the bouts — and for that, I arguably had the best seat in the house. From the time the first bell rang at 7:30 pm to the time just before the national anthems were played at 11:00 pm, I watched the arena under my feet transform into Lil’ Poland.
With booze flowing from taps to Polish lips all night long, the electric crowd was up on its feet waving the flag and flying the White Eagle high in the air. As the crowd restlessly awaited the main event, the DJ at “The Rock” — knowing his audience — played “Jeste? Szalona” by Boys — a hit Polish song circa 1997 that sent the crowd into a frenzy. At times, between the bouts, it felt more like I was at a club in Warsaw as opposed to a boxing event.
After Michael Grant received a steady stream of boos from the Adamek faithful, “Pamietaj” by Funky Polak — “Goral’s” entrance song and a song about Polish immigration to the United States blared through the arena’s speakers and out emerged Adamek.
Throughout the twelve round battle, fans cheered “Adamek! Adamek!” “Goral! “Goral!” and “Polska!” “Polska!”, not once taking a round off. When the final bell rang to conclude the entertaining fight, the fans erupted once more, chanting “Dzi?kuj?! Dzi?kuj?!” Translation: “Thank You!” “Thank You!”
The appreciation that Adamek’s fans show toward their fighter stretches beyond his accomplishments inside the ring. They appreciate what he has done for their homeland and they show it by flocking to Newark every time he steps into the ring to cheer him on.
Adamek’s fights at the Prudential Center are events. They are a five hour party with endless booze, music, and dancing. All five times he has fought at “The Rock”, the party has culminated with a referee raising “Goral’s” hand to recognize the Pole as the winner. A unanimous decision victory against Grant has put Adamek in a situation to continue to advance toward his goal of facing a titleholder. There is little doubt that a bout between him and David Haye would be entertaining and it is up for debate as to whether Adamek is ready for a meeting against a Klitschko brother. But rumors have it that “Goral’s” next bout may take place on November 6th in Atlantic City — a bout that if it did happen, would not be for a title. Either way, his win over Grant has put him one step closer to realizing his dream.
Adamek, not unlike General D?browski and Bonaparte, has set out on a conquest of his own. But instead of being rewarded with the takeover of precious territories, Adamek, a former world champion at light heavyweight and cruiserweight, hopes he will one day lay claim to a world heavyweight title for his efforts. While only time will tell whether “Goral” will realize his dream, one thing is for certain: Like D?browski, Adamek has legions of Polish followers that will march in lockstep with and support their Polish brethren whomever and wherever he fights next.
You can follow Kyle Kinder at Twitter.com/KyleKinder
Photos by Claudia Bocanegra
