That's the one. Please correct me if I am wrong Yianko, however I believe he created PAOKMANIA all those years ago and seems to have gradually made his way up to a full time journalist.
Throughout my journey as a PAOK fan I have met so many people through PAOK. It is so interesting to see where they are now. Απαράδεκτος, from fanatic and forum creator to full time journalist is just one example. Then there are the familiar faces that I see either whenever I go to Toumpa or to an away match somewhere in Europe - they will always be there at every game. PAOK is literally their life (and however bad it may sound me saying this, it is their life in an unhealthy way). Then there are the people who I know from the forums and the good old days of msn (and more recently facebook when I had it). I have met quite a lot of them in person at games either in Greece or Europe. I have even been on away trips with them by coach or with their car. A lot of them are now like me in that our fanatical days are well and truly over. Our heart is indeed still black and white but we know at the end of the day that it is just football. Finally there are those who were once so addicted (the only conversation you could have with them was about PAOK, football or violence in football), but now have barely anything to do with it all. I knew of one guy who was the complete set - PAOK, heavy stoner, long hair/dreadlocks, unshaven, went to all the games etc. One day around five years ago it seems he decided to just hit the switch. He cut his hair short, shaved, dressed trendily, got a job as promoter in one of the clubs in Thessaloniki and claimed how football was just part of a 'fashion cycle'. Considering I had this guy down as being part of the second group of people, it came as a huge shock and probably paved the way for me to stop being fanatic.
I remember about 5 years ago an old friend who I was very close to told me that my fanaticism would die out and, I quote, "ίσα που θα πηγαίνεις σε κανα ευρωπαϊκο εκτός έδρας". At the time of course I thought it was ridiculous but now as I find myself going to the odd European game (mixed in with a bit of travelling of course) I can see he was right.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that PAOK has served/serves a different purpose for everyone. Some people earn a living from PAOK (look at people like Kolkas. I could also put some of the people in charge of fan clubs but that is another poisonous story altogether), some genuinely need PAOK to give purpose to their own life, while for others it gives a sense of belonging. I can definitely say that PAOK helped me while I was going through a difficult period at school. I saw fellow PAOK fans as brothers who accepted me regardless of who I was.
After all is said and done, PAOK taught me to accept people regardless of their background and to share what I have with others. PAOK isn't about the flares, the insulting songs or the thugs who think PAOK is theirs. For me PAOK is having respect for your opponent. It isn't about throwing things at opposition fans in the stands. It is about hearing them sing then coming right back at them with an even louder song. It is about swapping scarves with them at the end of the game. Believe it or not I know some fans who want PAOK to win games with penalties outside the box when playing against Olympiakos or Panathinaikos. With revenge so big on their agenda what they don't see is that then makes us just as bad. PAOK means winning fairly or admitting when the ref has helped (doesn't happen often but certainly has happened to us).
As I said, I may not be as fanatic as I used to be and I may not watch all the games like I used to, but I certainly know one thing. Once PAOK, always PAOK.
