ALLEZ LES BLEUS!

The subject translates roughly to "Go Blue!" in English. It is the subject of my entry, because that is what I heard shouted almost manaically from the thousands of French soccer fans at the France v. Cyprus qualifying match last night. ISA got us cheaper tickets, and so I passed the evening caught up in the excitement of an international sporting event...So much fun! And I'm not even really a soccer fan. Sometimes it's fun to get involved in something like that just for the sake of having an excuse to scream your lungs out and be part of such a huge herd of loyal fans.

I will now be the lazy bum that I am, and copy what I wrote about the game yesterday.

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A group of us all met at Fontaine St. Michel before heading out to Stade de France along with the rest of the city. Walking through the corridors of the metro felt more like swimming through brimming channels of tangible, drinkable excitement. Everyone was going the same way, for the same reason. There was a feeling of unity in that section of the RER--no matter how superficial. Unlike all the other trips one takes on the Paris underground, where no one knows another's business or destination, this trip simply had the feel of a herd of like-minded individuals. Last night, when I found myself pressed up against the bodies of strangers, enveloped by the intense heat of the train car, I felt not claustrophobic, but rather like a part of a huge celebration. I love the atmosphere created by spontaneous festivity. It's a similiar feeling to the one I have when I watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle on a warm evening. Everything around you seems unburdened somehow by the simple fact that something beautiful or exciting exists for no other reason than to bring pleasure, and it's happening on such a grand scale. The bigness of the event thus plays a major part in my enjoyment of it.

If the metro ride was a massive pool of festivity, it was ten times more so as we reached the top of the stadium (from outside) and saw the field, the thousands of spectators laid out before us. The lights were glaring, the last words of the French national anthem being shouted from every loyal fan and every recreating spectator. It was all just so big. I found myself caught up in the oscillations of emotion as France scored, as they lost the ball.. I'm not even a fan of many spectator sports, but something about the crowd was irresistable. It's a funny thing, how a crowd can impact one's experiences and reactions so profoundly.

Needless to say, a good time was had by all. It didn't hurt that France won, and that immediately following the game there was celebratory, driving American music projected throughout the stadium, accompanied by fireworks! I did, however, find it bizarre and entertaining when they began to play "Born in the USA." Regardless of how strange we found this (everyone knows the French as a whole love the USA), we American students sang along, unabashedly relishing a brief hiatus from the stresses of adapting to French life, and indulging fully in a bit of patriotism--while furiously waving our little French flags. Ah, the paradoxes of being an "American in Paris." Sometimes I think we're all just a little bit more homesick than we let ourselves believe...

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Well, that's probably it for now. Maybe I'll grace you with some pictures later. If you're lucky. Muahahaha...