Le Cirque du Shitshow

Let me tell you about the greatest spectacle women’s soccer has ever seen. U.S. national treasure Megan Rapinoe had earlier in the week expressed hope that the game would be a total "shitshow circus." It was the United States versus France in the quarter final of the world cup. The U.S. came in as the reigning champions, confronting their strongest challenger playing at home in their capital city. 

Having been to other USWNT matches, and knowing how many Americans we had run into in Paris in the days leading up to it, I was expecting a majority U.S. crowd. I was wrong. The U.S. fans did show up in great numbers, and in full voice, but to be honest, it was very clearly a home game for Les Bleues. The setting was the cavernous Parc des Princes stadium in western Paris, along the Seine, late in the evening after a long, hot day.

For us, game night started at the pre-game party with the American Outlaws supporter group. The party was in a park/outdoor bar area about a mile from the stadium, and the beer was flowing, the stars and stripes were waving, and faces were painted. From there, it was time to march. Something like 1200 of us marched through the streets of western Paris, singing, clapping, and waving to surpassed residents hanging out their windows and observing the parade of Americans literally parading through their neighborhood, most of them capturing videos of us on their phones as we passed by. It was weird and wonderful. 

The game was at 9:00 local time, so the heat wasn’t as intense as it had been in Reims for the game against Spain, but any relief in heat was more than offset by the wall of noise the French fans made with their many songs, chants, and cheers. Some of that tension was cut almost immediately, when Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring wishing the first 10 minutes, driving a free kick through was seemed like all of the other players on the field, and ultimately into the French goal. 1 - 0 U.S. We were off and rolling. That was the end of the scoring in the first half, and we entered half time with a lead, albeit an uneasy one. Not to far into the second half, Rapine added another to make it 2 - 0. It must be said that while we were up, France was kind of dominating the game. They had more of the ball, and the game spent far more time near our goal than theirs. It looked like we had added a third goal not long later, but it was ruled out due to a marginal (and bad?) offside call. A French fan near me was happy to wave a correcting finger as I celebrated the goal. Instead of up 3 - 0 it was still 2, and it was 2 -1 not long later when France’s giant defender Wendie Renard struck with her head on a well-executed set piece. The crowd roared, and didn't stop until the end of the game. That led to a final 15 minutes of hanging on and survival for the U.S. It felt like a repeat of Spain, where the opponent had numerous opportunities to tie the game, but our women held on strong, and preserved victory.

Later on, my parents commented on the visceral experience of the noise that the French fans made, how you could feel it in your core after they scored. That feeling is why I also say that European soccer matches are my favorite live sporting events, and this game did nothing but reinforce that. But the USA prevailed, and we made our way through the late night streets of Paris back to our apartment to rest up for our final day in Paris. 

Go USA!

Pre-game USA fan party

Team USA huddling after securing the win