On becoming a rugby fan

Stade de France

Rugby.  I had heard of it, I know some people who have played, but I had never watched a game until coming to France. Many of the European assistants here a big rugby fans and they sparked an interest in watching the Rugby Word Cup back in October.  So thanks to my new friends I now have a general idea of the game, rules, and strategy.  (I still have a lot to learn but I’m much more aware than before I came to Dijon so it’s a good start!)  So back in October, France had made it to the semi finals of the Rugby World Cup.  They faced England and came out victorious-- meaning they were to advance to the Rugby World Cup Championship game!  In the championship game they faced the highly favored New Zealand All Blacks.  Unfortunately France lost in a heartbreaker- by one point!

After watching the ups and downs of France in the World Cup last fall, when the opportunity to go to Paris to watch a live rugby match at Stade de France came up, I simply could not turn it down!  This was my second time going to Stade de France as I had previously attended a soccer game there, when I studied abroad, to see France vs Austria.  Stade de France is massive and for the rugby match there were over 79,000 fans in the crowd- crazy!  France played Italy and crushed them: 30-12 was the final score.  Attending the game was an absolute blast as the atmosphere was fantastic!  A horn would sound and the whole crowd would yell “Olé!”, the French national anthem was sung countless times, we did the wave, and chanted “Allez les Bleus!” over and over.  An added bonus was to take in sayings French people would yell throughout the game…now I have some phrases to use for a future game!

On a personal level I achieved two “French sports fan moments” in one day:

To paint the French flag on my cheek:

(Everyone does this!)

And to buy/wear an official France scarf:

(Again, everyone had one! Team scarves are
a very European thing.)

After watching France in the Rugby World Cup, and seeing them play live, I truly feel connected to the team- as if they’re really “my” team now.  So, no matter who is playing, when it comes to rugby I will forever support les Bleus!  

Maeve, Jim, and I after the game!

Word of the Post: Allez les Bleus! – support chant for French national teams (All French national teams are called “Les Bleus”)