FIFA FAN FEST!

Give me an event where there are thousands of cheering fans and I am one happy person. The cheerleader in me cannot resist the opportunity to scream and shout and cheer on a team with the best of them. I become an instant number one fan of any team and the louder the crowds shout, the more energy I have to thrive upon.

I have been waiting for the world cup to start for a VERY long time. Basicially… since I arrived. I have been waiting to watch the normal contained French become exuberant and wildly passionate about their sport and team of choice. The World Cup officially started on June 11th. I planned to join all the Frenchies in watching the sport and learn what the world loves about “Football,” compared to my love of American Football.

FIFA hosting the world cup has selected 6 cities to host the FIFA Fan Fest where they place a large screen in a major park to gather large crowds together to watch the game. Paris was selected as one of the host cities this year. The location couldn’t be any better. The event takes place right off of the Trocadero. The Trocadero is genereally loved by tourist for an amazing view of you with the Tour Eiffel. Having the World Cup game played for the next month with thousands of football lovers with the Eiffel tower in the back! What more of an experience can you ask for than that?!



If you are in Paris and are able to make it- I suggest arriving early. Pack a picnic come an hour or two early and enjoy the day. We arrived about an hour and a half early and it was perfect. Starting an hour before the game- there was a host who tried to pump up the crowds. Through dances, small competitions, and shoutings of “Allez les Bleus!”

Having fun while waiting for the game to start

The FIFA Fan Fast wass filled with all of the major news broadcasters (we were interviewed- luckily Sarah knows something about soccer), thousands of people, poofs of spontaneous busts of confetti, and music to keep high energy going during the pregame waiting and halftime break.

On the stage they taught an “easy dance” to get the crowd up and moving while they played “This is Africa” one of the songs for the World Cup. When they invited the crowd to join, 5 people out of the 3,000 stood up to join. I wonder if the other three people who stood were just as embarrassed, when no one else stood, and when the music played they did a completely different dance. However, I am not on a mission to learn the moves to “Wavin Flag” and be better prepared, to help set the tone of the match.

The Goal will be go from the 5 of us who stood to getting the response this crowd had.

My favorite part of watching football with the Frenchies is being with them during the singing of their National Anthem, “La Marseillaise.” I appreciate the difference between the normally loud Americans who listen respectful to the “Star Spangled Banner.” To the typically reserved French who proudly sing or chant the first verse of their National Song. We recorded a video of this on Friday. The sound is a bit off, but watch the group of guys who have their arms wrapped around each other in camaraderie. Another one to observe is the guy pumping his fist in support of his nation and team.



One other fun difference between Sports in America versus here in France was the dress code. At home when going to a game I always wear a Tee Shirt or Jersey to support the team. At a Chargers game everyone is dressed in Chargers gear. Being that we were going to a Major sports game in France, my roommate and I naturally went to the store- questioned our national loyalty if we bought France National Tee Shirts but decided, “When in France… Wear France!” We bought our shirts and wore them proudly to the game.

Notice all those surrownding us and their lack of any thing resembling team spirit in their clothes.

And we were the ONLY ones proudly wearing these shirts to the game. I thought for sure I would see several people wearing my basic shirt. But no. Everyone else was wearing their regular clothes. There were a few who wore the French flag and painted their face – as in two people. And if I would have talked to them, they might have actually been American- who also made the mistake of dressing for a major sport event the same way we would back home.

But to give the French more credit than their lack of Blue attire, they did have many waving flags in support of their team. (I wonder if they sell American Flags here?) And you can see in the video of their national anthem they wave them proudly throughout the game.

While I was one of two people (the other my roommate) wearing a shirt in support of France, I think I will keep this small part of my All Americanism while watching the World Cup this year. Hopefully we can help inspire a whole new level of support and Spirit for the French National Team.

I loved the FIFA Fan Fest, I loved watching the World Cup with the French in support of their National Team, and I love that there is a whole month of football ahead to roar up a nation, and rally people together in support of something fun.


Allez Les Bleus!