Katowice, Poland, September 5, 2014 - Despite the team playing elsewhere, Poland fans in Katowice have been proudly showing their colours during the opening week of the FIVB Men's World Championship by turning the fanzone in front of Spodek into a noisy night party.
Just before matches started at Spodek on Monday, the city's Vice President Marcin Krupa was eager to tell everyone about Katowice's big volleyball traditions and the fans have been happily proving him right.
Thousands of people have been wrapping themselves in red and white scarves and flags, wearing red and white hats, and covering their faces in red and white paint to cheer Poland to a perfect pool record on the giant screen that is the focal point of the Katowice fanzone.
Pool B's competition director Ewa Grzegorczyk said she hoped that Poland would go through all the phases and come to Spodek, and the scarf-wavers and hat-wearers in the fanzone unanimously agree.
"I hope that Poland win," said Katowice resident Agnieszka Burger, who went with friends and family to watch Poland beat Venezuela 3-0 on Thursday night.
She said she intended to see all of Poland's games and would definitely be back in front of Spodek if Poland made the final. "We will be screaming and blowing our horns, there will be lots of noise."
Grzegorz Latoszewski, a Business Development Manager for Polish company Sports Hospitality, is the man in charge of looking after the site and all the food and drink requirements of its visitors.
He says they have planned for 5,000 fans for matches in the first phase and 10,000 for the following phases should Poland qualify.
Early demand was already above expectations according to Latoszewski, who credited Finland's travelling mass of fans for taking full advantage of the fanzone's facilities, which included a loud and enthusiastic reception of the players after their 3-0 win over Korea on Wednesday.
"They are always happy, drinking and smiling, they are an unexpected positive," he said about the supporters after originally thinking that without Poland playing in the city, initial demand might be slow.
Spodek's giant screen is a permanent resident and is normally used by Katowice City for promotional purposes while the large open area in front of the stadium is used for various sports and music events throughout the year.
One thing's for sure, the fanzone will become an even noisier sea of Polish red and white if Stephane Antiga's team can make it to Katowice and the semi-finals.