17 February 2008

Nice v. Marseille

FORGOT TO PUT up this short video clip from the Ligue 1 match I went to last weekend between Marseille and Nice. Even though Nice lost the game, the atmosphere was incredible: lots of singing, lots of chanting, lots of bad words, and lots of fire (yes, fire!).

By European standards the Nice team is quite small, usually finishing in the middle of the pack in the top French league (which is -- at best -- only the 4th of 5th best league in Europe). However, Marseille is a European powerhouse, having won the Champtions League multiple times. This particular game had some extra significance because Nice is doing very well this season (currently 4th) and Marseilles is struggling (but playing better lately). And because the game was against Marseille, the local police were ready for a huge contingent of their fans (can you say 'riot gear'?). And sure enough, they arrived in mass on 8 police-escorted buses about 30 minutes before the match.


CJS

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