Olympique Lyonnais
Almost every country in the world besides America loves soccer. To say that they love it is actually a huge understatement; words like passionate, insane, frightening, and postal are probably more appropriate. Living in France is no different, and it just so happens that one of the best club teams in the world plays about an hour and a half away from Albertville in the city of Lyon. Lyon is the 2nd biggest city in France, and while it's more well known for it's collection of world class chefs and their gastronomical delights, their football club is a close second.
** What's all the fuss about? It's just a soccer game... **
I've the had the chance to drive to Lyon for 2 matches. One was in October, but the game was sold out when we got there, and the scalpers where asking wicked high prices because the game was against St. Entienne, which is one of OL's biggest rivalries because of the two cities' close proximity. This was still a fun trip though, because there was some classic hooligan action before the game, complete with fights, fire, and hundreds of riot gear equipped gendarme. No game, but plenty of good action!
** Yep, the one finger salute means the same thing here as it does back in the States... **
The 2nd game was last Saturday against Monaco, who is allowed to play in the French Ligue 1 despite not even being in France. It's a whole separate country. That would be like the U.S. allowing Canadian teams to play on the NBA or MLB...oh wait, maybe it's not so weird.
** A beautifully groomed pitch **
Monaco is a middle of the road team and OL has won the French Ligue 1 title for 5 straight years, so it was expected to be a blowout, but Monaco scratched and clawed its way to a 0-0 tie. No scoring, but if you know anything about soccer, you know that 0-0 ties can still be incredibly exciting games.
** This is a classic sign. It says, "Olympique Lyonnais is a formidable reason to be happy." I love it... **
I also had great seats for this game about 20 yards from midfield behind the OL bench in the 4th row. There was a cool young French couple sitting right next to me who had never met an American before, so we talked some, mostly in French, and it added alot to the experience. Knowing some French and being able to converse with the people is an amazing thing.
** Me and my awesome seat **
The next time I see a football match it will probably be some Kabiye kids out in a village kickin' it around in the dust, and while the level of play won't be quite as high as Olympique Lyonnais, I'm sure that it will, on some level, be just as awesome...
This entry was posted
on Friday, December 29, 2006 at 1:14 PM.
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6:58 PMWhat I'd give to be able to sit and listen in on you talk to that couple in French at a football game! You are the perfect world traveler! How quickly were you able to pick up on the language? Fast, I bet! Keep doing this. These blogs are fantastic!
6:16 AM
Scoccer is BIG in Italy, too. It was in a train station in some little twon in Italy that they almost closed the train station down while policemen surrounded scoccer fans to transfer them from one train to another to prevent any riots or negative activity. They stuck Beckie and Vivian back in a hallway and told them to stay there until the group passed while I was stuck in the toliet...I walked right out in the middle of them not knowing what was going on until I got to a plant on the side of the wall and stood behind it while they passed bcause there was no room for me on the platform and then Beck and Viv jerked me in the hallway with them and told me what was going on!
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