Fingers Crossed

(To keep this post unsearchable, I'm going to play a little Taboo, in written form.)

I'm nervous about a large sporting event taking place this weekend. Not because I made any bets on the winner. Or because I normally root for either of the two teams playing. Even though I have no real stake in the game, I'm nervous simply because I really want to watch it, and there's no guarantee I'll be able to.

Sure, I could go to an international sports bar in the 5th called Wide Open Spaces. Maybe get there around 10 PM - two hours before kickoff - and hope to get a seat. After the game finishes - around 3:30 or 4 AM here - I'd have to take a cab, or wait for a night bus, or walk about an hour to get home. At 4 AM. I'm not really interested in going to that bar.

I'd much rather watch from the comfort of my own home. For that, I rely on a few websites: atdhe.net and my2p2.eu. They allow you to watch American TV streaming, the legality of which is ambiguous. (I'd argue that since all the commercials are streamed too, no one is losing ad revenue. And excepting the advertising thing, I'm not sure what the distinction is between watching something on the computer and watching it on a television.)

The problem with watching a big game online is that too many things could go wrong. My connection could be faulty; the game could be blocked; too many people might be trying to watch at the same time. That's why my fingers are crossed that everything goes off without a hitch on Sunday night.

When streaming is successful, the picture and sound quality are actually quite good:

So keep  your fingers crossed on my behalf, and keep track of your favorite commercials so we can talk about them afterwards!

France v. Austria, Part C

One of the highlights of the game last Wednesday (has it really been a week already?) came at the very end, when a French victory was all but assured. Over-enthusiastic fans took it upon themselves to get the celebrations started early - by running onto the field and avoiding security for as long as possible.

This happened twice. In a row.

The more restrained public expressed their excitement in a series of quality "waves," one of which you can hear here, after a chant I couldn't quite make out, and followed by a different wave of unhappy "woooos":

At French sporting events, the wave isn't something people just get up and do when it comes to them - they prepare for it, starting to stamp their feet and make noise when the wave is still a few sections away. I've also seen people put their arms straight out in front and shake them a little while they're waiting for the wave to arrive, and then when it does, the effect of everyone's arms moving in concert is a neat thing to see. (Unfortunately it doesn't really come out in this video, but you do get a sense of the crowd, the game, the security presence, and the use of those fans/noisemakers/banners.)

France v. Austria, Part 2

More videos and audio from Wednesday Night:

The game started later than we'd expected, so we stopped in a Quick (France's home-grown fast food chain) for some (un)sustenance. Everything was gross: the high cost of the disgusting food being bought by a surprisingly large (in number, not in physical size) group of people.

Walking to the entrance gate, I was impressed to see these children so brightly attired, and dismayed to realize that the horses the police were riding (I guess for just-in-case crowd control?) were not wearing bags. They won't let Panda in most parks, and they let their horses defecate (chier) over the crowded sidewalks outside the national stadium? Give me a break.

Once inside, we discovered these on our seats:

Folded up, they make the percussive noise you hear amidst everything else here:

The chant you heard goes, "Et ils sont où, et ils sont où, et ils sont où les Autrichiens," which taunts the Austrian fans by asking where their team is (since, with the score at 3-1, they were no longer really in the game).

Everyone not under the awning, it seemed, got flags instead of fans/posters/percussive noise objects:

To be continued tomorrow . . .

France v. Austria, Part I

Wednesday night, my friend Damien and I went to the France-Austria 2010 World Cup Qualifying Match at the Stade de France, just north of the city. In lieu of any long narrative or explanation, I'm just going to post a few batches of video and audio so you can get an idea of what it was like to be at the game.

Outside of the stadium, and Damien

La Marseillaise

"Allez les Bleus," (Go French Soccer Team!) and you'll hear the crowd boo something - except apparently in France they say "wooooo" instead of "boooo." (It's a low "wooo," whereas the high-pitched "woooo" still indicates positive excitement.)

One thing you can't get an idea of is how cold it was! We're in the middle of an early cold snap here, but I hear it's the same at home . . .