I went to my first football match over the weekend and saw Olympique Lyonnais tie Rennes at the Stade de Gerland.  This was nothing like any sporting event I’ve ever attended in the US — the food was reasonably priced, the stadium was full of smokers, the fans stood on their seats for the entire match, and the cheering was led by a middle-aged man who was clearly not chosen for his singing voice.  Oh, and the bathrooms were nightmarishly typical French. All in all, it was an interesting cultural experience, at the very least, and I decided to talk about it with my students as a starting point in classes this week.

As I began my story, some of my students started to look confused (not that this is any different from any other class), particularly when I mentioned that this was my first ever professional match. I asked them about their favorite team — and they countered by asking if Manchester United was mine.  Confused, I explained that I didn’t really follow football and that I couldn’t name a favorite team, because in the US we prefer sports like baseball and “football américain.

At this, hands shot up.  Mais madame, vous n’etes pas Anglaise ?

I’ve been working with these kids once a week since October, during which time I’ve taught lessons on Boston, the US Elections and Obama, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Martin Luther King day.  Of course this is the class that gave me “bozard” last week, so I suppose  I can’t take it personally.