Sitting among the cheering fans of the Chinese women's volleyball team in Rio de Janeiro, a Polish fan grabbed a lot of attention, not because he was not Chinese, but because he has followed the team closely from the very beginning.
The 60-year-old Jozef fell in love with the Chinese women's volleyball team at the first sight when he watched the girls at the London Olympics on TV in 2012. The Polish man was fascinated by the performances of the young team, especially by its core player Hui Ruoqi. Before that Jozef was a loyal fan of his home team-- the Polish men's volleyball.
Since then, Jozef has become obsessed with the team and has kept track of almost all their international competitions. Back in the 2013 Montreux Volley Masters of Switzerland, the Polish man, for the first time, came to cheer up for team on site. He also drove all the way from Poland to Italy to lend support for the girls during the 2014 Women's World Volleyball Championship.
Traveling hundreds of miles from Poland to Brazil, the hardcore fan booked tickets for all matches of the Chinese women's volleyball. This time, Jozef was captured by TV cameras and has been recognized by not just fans, but millions of Chinese TV audience.
The "Polish grandpa", a nickname given by Chinese volleyball fans, has 18,000 followers on Sina Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, where Jozef has been sharing his obsession with Chinese internet user since 2013.
