One of the most interesting cultural experiences I’ve had so far in Lyon was watching France play in the final of the Rugby World Cup. Ironically, it was in a Scottish Pub, and they were playing “les anglo-saxons” New Zealand All-Blacks (this is a very commonly used term for anyone who's first language is English, but usually means American or British). It was really cool when everyone started singing the national anthem, La Marseillaise, when France scored a try. It was a very good game to watch (and I don’t even follow rugby!), with the All Blacks only edging out “Les Bleus” by 1 point. Everyone was very proud how their team played, and as this was really New Zealand's game to lose, they did quite well.
The standing-room only crowed at The Wallace. The are lots of Irish and Scottish pubs here, very à la mode. Luckily we showed up 2 hours before kick off to snag a table. What I didn't expect was that only a few people were wearing jerseys (eg. the guys with the tricolour wigs) - quite different than national sporting events back home.
The whole bar singing La Marseillaise (the French national anthem) at the start of the game.
"Allez les bleus!", the national cheer. The most common thing people said to cheer on their team during the game was "allez!" or go! in English.
Another rendition of "allez les bleus", after a particularly good play.
Soccer ("le foot") and rugby are the most popular sports in France, although tennis and handball are also quite commonly played, and lots of people ski (especially since Lyon is only an hour or so from the Alps). I was surprise to discover that CPE started an American Football team this year. This is not a very common sport in France.
In November, I went to see a Champions League match with about 15 other exchange students. We bought our tickets 2 months in advance, 35 € for what turned out to be pretty decent seats. We didn't' use the seats much, as soon as the game started everyone stood on them to get a better view. If everyone was sitting we could all have the same view while being more comfortable...
This is the top league in Europe, with only the best 1-3 teams from each country. Olympique Lyon is one of the 3 teams representing France (the others are Lille and Olympique Marseille - very creative names!), and in the past 10 years they have made it to the semi-finals several times and are multiple national champions. They play about 2 Champions League games a month, and also play in the top French League.
Waiting for the game to start, with Jan (Germany), Néstor (Catalonia / Spain), Julia (Germany), Stefan (Germany), and Daiane (Brazil).
With Julia (Germany), with our Olympique Lyonnais scarves. There are ones just for the team and some especially for the match, with both teams and the date.
Before you can enter the stadium, you get a pat-down by a security guard and they check your purse. These security measures, as well as the total lack of beer in the stadium, are in place to try and reduce hooliganism. I didn't realize it was such a big issue - I mean, NHL games are pretty peaceful and thats with lots of people having 2-3 beers a game. However, when the hooligans started throwing flare guns and the police in riot gear had to be called in, it made sense!
Lyon was playing Ajax Amsterdam, who were slightly ahead in their pool (which also includes Real Madrid and Dinamo Zagreb). The Amsterdam fans, who had spent all day on a bus to get there, had their own section, separated from the Lyon fans by two fences and a no-man's land. That didn't stop them from climbing the fences and mouthing off at the Lyon fans! We were sitting in a fairly quiet section, or so we thought until the Ajax fans nearby started making rude gestures at the Lyon fans and the Lyonnais answered back. The Lyon hooligans were seated across the stadium, as far away as possible from the Dutch fans. Along the length of the stadium were the more expensive club seats.
The pitch at Stade de Gerland, before the game.
"O L " for Olympique Lyon, at the start of the game. The team's colours are blue and red.
Things didn't get really out of hand (apparently this was average for a football match), although twice a Dutch flare caused smoke to cover the playing field, so for a few minutes we couldn't see what was happening in the game.
Smoke from a flare thrown by the Ajax hooligans. The game didn't stop, although this must certainly have made things more challenging for the players.
Another flare.
Ajax hooligans in the distance. Check out the flare on the left hand side.
The match was a draw, 0-0. It was a lot of fun, but it would have been nice to see a goal, and Lyon had several good chances towards the end. Ajax just needed to draw to be basically guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, as the second place team behind the uncatchable Real Madrid. Lyon needed to beat them to get this spot - their only remaining chance after the game was for Ajax to lose to Madrid and for Lyon to score 7 goals more than Ajax against Zagreb. Incredibly, thats what happened a few weeks later! Lyon beat Zagreb 7-1, tying the record for most goals ever scored in a Champion's league match. Lyon maintains their record of making it to the playoffs every year since '02/03. I'm really looking forward to watching the playoffs, which start in a few weeks.
"Tout ce qui ne sautent pas sont pas Lyonnais" (Anyone not jumping is not Lyonnais).
At the front of our section were two guys on a raised platform with a microphone, there to lead the cheers. They were actually pretty annoying, and couldn't sing worth a dime. I did like the giant flags at the front of our section.
"Lyonnais"
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