Gifting the Greeks a bailout in the opening game induced a new gait in the Polska faithful as they exited the National Stadium and made their way over the Poniatowski Bridge to the Fan Zone - the Warsaw Wobble.
Heads bowed, the deflation after the cracking inaugural 90 minutes enveloped the hoarse Polish With flags and scarves around necks and wrists hanging limp, they wore their expressions not only on their faces but in their shoes, too, trudging one heavy foot after another in a shuffling lament for what should have been: three points and the perfect start to their tournament.
The long hike was further saddened by the haunting Chopin notes that rung on in the ears long after pianist Adam Gyorgy started the proceedings during the short and sweet opening ceremony, the maestro's mazurka blended into Slavic techno for the finale.
What should have been their easiest game in group A, and with 56,800 scarf-whirring fans generating enough breeze to sail their team up and down the Vistula, Franciszek Smuda's men suffered an aberration worthy of inclusion in an Anton Chekov tragedy and gifted the Greeks an equaliser - and nearly credited them the match.
The writer of the 'The Greek Party is Here' banner strung out on the upper tier had missed out a crucial word - 'Spoiler', and had the 2004 Euro champions taken the stimulus package offered to them through a penalty courtesy of Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny's kamikaze challenge on Dimitris Salpingidis, they would have boosted their chances of long-term survival in the premier European competition.
Giorgos Karagounis failed to bank the bullion, however, and so squandered an unlikely win - not that the Greek fans, many of whom found the temperature inside the enclosed arena to their Mediterranean liking and stripped off their tops, were complaining. They banged their drums and rejoiced long after the final whistle, while Polish thoughts further soured as they watched the Russian bears' emphatic devouring of the Czechs.
'We had to beat the Greeks, that was our easiest game. Now look at what we face,' says one Polska fan as Russia's Alan Dzagoev continued his sumptuous meal of the Czech defence on the screen before us.