Allez les Bleus!

E here.  I am a little tardy on the posts and I am going to try to post not once, but twice today!  Let's see how this goes...

So anyway, first topic.  I got to see a Six Nations rugby game last Sunday - France vs. Ireland - at the Stade de France.  The stadium is massive (apparently it holds 80,000 spectators) and we had an amazing view of the field from our seats.  Watching an international rugby match has literally been one of my 'life list' items to check off, so I was SUPER pumped to finally get to see a match live.

The French national anthem is La Marseillaise.  I haven't learned it yet, but got to hear it multiple times during the game.

Before heading into the stadium, there were tons of food tents selling draught beer and merguez sausages tucked into baguettes.  You can get your merguez on baguette "American style", which means topped with a mountain of french fries.  I did not partake in the deliciousness, but next time, it's on.  Once you are in the stadium, however, things are a little different.  North Americans: take a look at the picture below.  Yep, look closely... what is missing?

Give up?

No vendors!!!  Once inside the stadium, people forget the food and the drinks and just focus on the match.  There was a single concession stand (that was only busy during halftime) and not a single vendor selling candy/chips/popcorn/peanuts/hotdogs/sodas/beer/balloons.  Compared to pro or college sports in North America, this might seem shocking, but people here are actually here to watch the game.  And to yell about it.  And to whistle at the refs.

Of course, I had to show some Canadian pride in the stands...

The French were down 17-6 at halftime, but managed to come back to a 17-17 tie.  If it wasn't for an unfortunate turnover in the first half that led directly to Ireland's first try, les Bleus may even have pulled off the win.  What was really nice was that after the game, the team made the rounds of the stadium to thank the fans.  Nice touch!

Stay tuned for post number two... dog park!

- E