The first time I was living in France in 1991, the French were very proud of the fact that Texas had just decided to purchase some TGVs to improve intrastate travel (the French model having beat out the Japanese and the Germans). The Texas TGV was supposed to link San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Houston if memory serves… anyhoo, of course Southwest lobbied their asses off (by the way, I don’t have anything against Southwest Airlines; in fact, it’s probably my favorite US airline) and some fools managed to convince the dairy farmers that the vibrations from the high-speed trains would be bad for their cows (I’m sure the thousands of cows I’ve passed on this journey alone would be surprised to hear it.) So, in the end, Texas dropped the TGV.
Another difference over here: the importance of the World Cup. The past few weeks, our evenings have pretty much revolved around nothing else. Yet when I lived in the US, I only have a vague souvenir of anyone ever talking about it. And I *love* soccer. I played for 2 years on the Lucky Shamrocks, undefeated in our district. I have great memories from those games, even though admittedly I myself wasn’t very good. And in high school, our soccer team was way better than our football team (I am of course referring to St Stephen’s, and so there are those who would say, “yes, but that’s private school.” Whatever.)
But back to our main story: Italy's win last night is more bitter than a bad espresso. I have to admit, going into the game, I had my misgivings, considering how poorly France played against Portugal to get into this final. But the truth is, after a somewhat sluggish first half, they DOMINATED that game. They came back from halftime (I could write a whole other entry on cultural differences in sports: notice no cheesey half-time show and NO CHEERLEADERS!! although the Coke ad featuring marital infidelity is yet another key cultural topic… there are some very interesting observations to be made on these points, but this is already an extremely long-winded bit so I’ll spare you that today) and ran all over the Ritals. Somehow, they just couldn’t score though, and thus the tragic ending that you are certainly all aware of by now. But I am really proud of the French team for how they played last night, and that is rare (both my pride in French soccer and their playing). They clearly had their mental game together and combined with their physical talents, they were a sight to behold. They were the better team last night and deserved to win.
2 comments:
Catherine Ann, it is I, Gregoire, your favorite thoroughbred Italian-American. I'm delighted that all is well with you, my dear!
I've had World Cup fever since the start of this year, so I must take exception with your assertion that there is no passion for the game here in the States (you should have seen the game-watching parties I attended here in Austin). And I absolutely must take exception with your derisive use of quotation marks when referring to the victory of my compatriots over France. It was indeed a victory for Italy...earned and complete. (If you insist on quoting "victory," then okay; I will do the same whenever referring to France's "victory" over Italy in Euro 2000, which is infamous for its conjured, sempiternal stoppage time that kept France alive.)
Would like to have been on that train ride between Lausanne and Paris.
Glad you've started this blog.
Cher Gregoire,
What a privilege and honor that you have commented on my blog. Out of respect to all my Italian friends, I have edited out the offending quotation marks.
Also, please note that I do not assert that there is no passion for the game in the US-- I just don't remember it being a big deal (certainly not like over here) but of course, the last time I lived in the US was a full decade ago, so obviously there have been a lot of changes in those 10 years (including the US women's soccer team garnering lots of attention...)
I hope all is well with you and your beautiful Italian family and look forward to seeing you in Austin in November!
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