By day, Dubliner Shane Peppered is an Irish man like any other. However, when international week comes around, something incredible happens. His eyes pop, his shirt rips… and he transforms in to The Green Hulk. Watch Three Ireland’s latest #TheCallUp video.
As Ireland prepare for a crucial World Cup qualifier with Moldova, the team will need the support of the Green Army to help their bid to make it to Russia 2018. Shane Peppard, more commonly known as ‘The Green Hulk’, is one supporter who stands out from the crowd. As part of #TheCallUp campaign, Three, sponsors of the Republic of Ireland football team, got an insight into his preparation for the big games.
Mega fan Shane reveals his son was the original driving force behind his transformation into the Green Hulk. The Dubliner first painted himself head to toe in green in 2015 for the Ireland v Poland game and it’s something that he’s continued to do at every game since. “It’s really about making memories for my children… They’ll look back and say ‘my Da was crazy’…”
His unique look doesn’t come without its share of interesting encounters as Peppard describes the reaction he got from French customs while on his way to Euro 2016. “The customs officer didn’t know what to do. He just laughed and giggled and let us through.” The travelling Irish fans played their part too as he claims, “all the Irish fans were in the background screaming, shouting, laughing and making a joke out of it.”
Speaking about how he and his son go the extra mile to prepare for games, Shane Peppard believes it’s well worth it to see the reaction from his fellow Green Army fans. “It just adds that little extra touch to the games… Most definitely, the Irish fans are better than the rest.”
Shane believes that being the Green Hulk is his Call Up for the Irish team “I mightn’t have got there as a footballer but definitely got there as a fan.”