Sixty Million Frenchmen Can Play Football

The title of the blog is a knock on Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow's best-selling novel, "Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong." This past Saturday was the Flash's home opener at Stade Geo Andre. Our opponent was the Black Panthers of Thonon-les-Bains, a small Alpine town near the Swiss border. The Black Panthers were the 2nd best team in France last year according to my teammates, and known for their aggressiveness and athleticism. Note on American football in France: I came to France thinking American football here had to be of better quality, with better athletes then the football I played in Finland. Finland is a country of only 5.3 million people, and 8 teams. France has a population of over 65 million, and only 12 teams are in the country. Mathematically speaking, France should have a great number more athletes, participating in competitive sports, at a higher level of play. Logic aside, my assumptions are categorically inaccurate (SAT words). Thonon-les-Bains was dreadful. Any team I played against in Finland would have destroyed them. I think the Helsinki Rooster team I was apart of last year could handle any team in the French league, including my present club, La Courneuve Flash. The Flash is a club full of great guys, and has a great deal of athletes, but the lack of commitment and discipline in the programme is typical to the semi-pro level in the country. Most guys have full-time jobs as well as families, so football is no more than a hobby and not a high priority. It is not more than a 2/3 night-a-week commitment. The Black Panthers had a roster of less then 40 players, (jouers) and the majority of the team seemed to play on both sides of the ball. The defensive end I matched up against didn't break the 6-foot or 220-pound barriers. I almost felt bad for him during the match, and chose not to maul him in to the ground repeatedly. I guess I just have a big heart.

My team, the Flash, have a hard time lining up correctly on offense and defense. Luckily we overwhelmed our first two opponents solely with our size on offense. (I am the lightest linemen on the team at 260.) We managed to rolled over the Black Panthers on each over of our four drives, racking up over 240 yards rushing. I played just one series of defense in the first half, Coach Esume opting to "rest me if I wasn't needed" in the second half. This was disappointing. Note on playing defense: I've played offensive line for close to 10 years now, and at level of play here in Paris, I could do it with two broken arms. Playing defense is a unique challenge that brings it back to the high school days. Playing defense is the only way I remotely get a physical workout, as well as a mental challenge. Hopefully, I can talk my way into more time on that side of the ball. Our defense could have been Leesville High. Arm-tackling and missed responsibilities kept the game close and our offense off the field. The finally score did not reflect the dominating performance of the offense, and the visibly beaten Black Panthers. Final Score: La Courneuve Flash -21 Thonon-les-Bains Black Panthers - 14