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Hey Mr. DJ! Polish duo continue to entertain the masses at EuroVolley with unique style of crowd entertainment

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Article Thu, Aug 31 2017

Krakow, Poland, August 31, 2017. Poland may be out of LOTTO EUROVOLLEY POLAND 2017 following their defeat to Slovenia, but two Poles who will undoubtedly be back next time and will continue on to the finals in Krakow are the music/voice duo of DJ Grzegorz Kułaga and announcer Marek Magiera. 

The duo have followed the Polish national team since the 1990s and have become synonymous with the red and white thanks to their unique way of creating a party atmosphere for the watching thousands, no matter which venue they are playing in. 

Working in their 20th year with the team, we caught up with Kułaga (GK) and Magiera (MM) ahead of Poland’s play-off tie against Slovenia on Wednesday evening for a quick Q&A…

How did your adventure with Volleyball start?

GK: It was a long time ago, actually in the previous century. This year we have the anniversary of our attendance in Polish arenas. We have been with Poland national team for twenty years. We have been wondering how long the journey will last. We thought it would be two or maybe three years until our way of doing things would end. Surprisingly, some little changes made the difference, we are still here hoping that our sport needs us.

How do you get ready before the matches?

GK: I am preparing myself all the time. In my car I listen to music or the radio and this inspires me. I try to write my ideas down and think how to use them during the match. The last twenty years it has been a huge part of my life. Someone told me ‘if you love your job, you will never be at work’. I love my job, all of the preparations and being a part of the biggest sport events. It’s a pleasure for me to do this.

MM: I don't need to search or prepare anything if we are talking about the sport. I am working as a Polsat Sport commentator, sports journalist and columnist so I have a wide knowledge. Each match is different from the other. Fans attending in the halls are not the same and we cannot predict how they will react. We need to be careful with words and make sure we don’t provoke anybody which may cause negative behaviour. We try to do it with the sense of humour and I hope it is received that way.

How much do you love your job?

GK: We need to love it. Supporters often come to us instead of seeing the players. It is always surprising, but they just come and say nice words about our work. Of course, sometimes there are negative opinions, but we respect them and they forced us to improve.



Which song warms up fans the most?

GK: Honestly I don't think there is one such song. It would be unfair to choose just one. We used to play a lot of the Polish rock from 1980s, but we cannot spend the whole time with only one genre. We have updated our playlist, because more and more supporters in the stands are young and listen to different kinds of music. We just need to fit it to the atmosphere inside the arena.

What is your favourite song?

MM: Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’. I played it often during my work in Polish league and it will always have a special meaning for me, because fans there reacted to it very well.

GK: I can't choose one, but we have a story with the ‘Song about Little Knight’ (the song was always played when Poland were in trouble on the court). It’s from a TV series about a small Polish knight who was really brave. We used to play it very often and now people are asking us why we stopped. The answer is really simple: we want to make it very special when we play it.