Of course Eddie Alvarez is a Sean Maguire fan

It's not uncommon for an American to claim they're Irish and disguise the fact their heritage is traced back to their great, great grandfather's cousin's old roommate.

But if we love one thing as good, old Irish folk, it's validation that we matter and, more importantly, that we're great. We can't enjoy a bit of hurling without hoping people from other countries are tweeting about it. We can't have fun at major tournaments without recording all the craic we're having. We're not a bad breed but there's no point in being like that unless someone else can acknowledge it. So when former UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez takes an interest in our little soccer team, we get far more excited than we should. https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ6mCghlOg1/?taken-by=sportsjoedotie The rise and rise of Sean Maguire continued on Friday night as the 23-year-old came off the bench to play for Ireland in a must-win World Cup qualifier. The country are in need of fresh talent and his progression is already thrilling Preston fans never mind Irish ones who've watched him catapult in the last two years. Eddie Alvarez seems to be an interested observer too. After the Moldova win, Sean Maguire expressed his joy at making his international debut and there was Philadelphia's finest on hand to appreciate it. Just last month, Alvarez made a lot of Gaels warm to him when he vowed to go visit a GAA player from Tyrone who was struck by a car and left in hospital in Philadelphia. https://twitter.com/Ealvarezfight/status/903310771848974337 And he kept his promise. https://twitter.com/Ealvarezfight/status/907316547093504006 That meeting obviously had a profound effect on Alvarez who then told Elliot's story on a Philadelphia radio station.

"There's a kid, he plays for Philadelphia GAA, he was hit by a car really bad. He's an Irish kid that came over here about a couple of months ago and he's recovering right now in Abington Memorial Hospital. I wanted to go check him out. He's a living miracle. He's talking to me, walking like a normal person. Just two weeks ago he bashed his skull open, broke a couple of things." "His name Aaron Elliott and he's out there right now. He has a Go Fund Me page and he has no insurance. He's from Ireland and like I said, no sad story here. The guy's fighting a fight and he's doing it unbelievable. So just keep an eye out for this kid."

Alvarez is one of the good guys and, to make it all better, he's an Ireland fan too.