Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Italy beat France at soccer two nil. Soccer is a game of endurance, strategy and team building. Being the most popular team sport in the world, it often stokes the patriotic fibre in fans and the public at large.

However, when it comes to sports commentators, we sometimes have to endure slurs and jabs. The latest example is Paul Doyle’s June 17 column replete with the entire Anti-French lexicon of latter day French Bashing.

  • The French team was not defeated, it “surrendered”;
  • The French team’s “shameful surrender” was “gutless and clueless”;
  • The French manager showed “cowardice”

The silver lining around this defeat in the early stages of the Euro 2008 cup must surely be the fact the American media will not take notice, thus sparing us the usual litany of late night jokes. For the record:

“Congratulations to the Italian people for winning the World Cup. … They won after France’s best player got ejected for head butting. That’s the closest anyone in a French uniform has come to combat in 60 years” – Jay Leno, 2006

“Top Ten Signs France Is Celebrating Their Soccer Victory: 8. Surrendering to Germany.” – David Letterman, 1998

By admin

9 thoughts on “The Anti-French Lexicon of Soccer”
  1. C’est écoeurant… Et ça vient du Guardian : un journal liberal (?)
    J’ai bien envie de contacter ce “monsieur” pour lui faire part de mon point de vue…

  2. It’s as-if the French Bashing Lexicon has become acceptable prose for way to many writers and commentators.

    Restaurant reviews (Ken Scrudato) – News (Don Martin) – Comedians (Randy Kagan) and once again Sport Columnists…

  3. It is really amazing that the progressive, anti-racist, leftist GUARDIAN the UK would print that crap! This is surely a sign that it’s a losing game, and all the more reason to fight back with your annual awards program to hightlight this sickness in the media. It will take time. But someday shite like that soccer column will never be allowed to be printed on paper or on a website. Terrible! Guardian editors should be ashamed!

  4. Bonjour,
    Vous dites :
    It’s as-if the French Bashing Lexicon has become acceptable prose for way to many writers and commentators.
    Je pense que c’est le cas, des stéréotypes racistes ou xénophobes qui s’imposent comme des évidences.
    Un exemple de xénophobie dans le monde des jeux :
    http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/322352
    Cordialement

  5. #8

    Sur internet les ados geeks ignorants ‘s’en donnent à coeur joie dans la haine et la conneire, c’est pas nouveau.

    Danc ce cas ci ce qui est choquant c’est que c’est un article du guardian, un grand journal de centre gauche qui ne nous avait pas habitué à ça contrairement à leurs concurrents torchons du rat Murdoch.

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