The Beautiful Game –                        

The sounds of a roaring stadium, or the look on your face as you enter for the first time those hallowed gates of the cathedrals of football, are moments one never forgets.

I remember my first time. I was a young boy and it was El Bernabeau that stole my heart. Real Madrid held a fierce battle against Athletic Bilbao but in the end they failed to prevail. I was heart broken to see the team I had supported my entire life, the only team I had ever known , in other words my heroes, destroyed by a “nobody” team. This was worse than Napoleon loosing at Waterloo, this was Napoleon loosing to an army of children in his own backyard. But that’s football, that’s sports in general. As the cliché goes “you win some you loose some.”

That year was disastrous for Real Madrid, and it would be for a couple of more years. But a few seasons later luck began to change and we were no longer only known as Real Madrid or “Los Blancos” (due to our all white kit) we were known as “Los Galacticos” or “ The Super Stars” thanks to players like Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Zidane, Raul, Iker Casillas, David Beckham, and Luis Figo.

But this article isn’t about the historic success of the “Club of the Century” its about the Beautiful Game. Its about 90 minutes, its about a group of eleven men fighting for one goal (yes, a play on words), its about the atmosphere in the crowed, it’s about the history of the game, the rivalries (many of which were created due to political situations), it about the beautiful passionate fans who put aside a failing economy and other problems for 90 minutes every week to watch their team play. It’s so much more than a ball being kicked around; it’s so much more than just a game.  

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This week for part one of the Beautiful Game we look at two French teams Paris St. Germaine, and Bordeaux both with a growing history.  The two teams met last week in one of Paris’ great stadiums for the semi final match of the Coupe de la Ligue elimination cup.

- Here is a review of the game  -

Hope you enjoy the video and look forward to future installments of the Beautiful Game with an insight into teams from Italy’s Serie A, and Spain’s La Liga. 

- Jose Silva

In Paris there is a joke that goes, next to soccer, protesting and going on strike are the favorite sports of the French. Here is one of those very French moments.

- Jose Silva

Jose Silva

I decided to wait a few days after my arrival in Paris, to soak up all my emotions and thoughts, to publish my first post my on this site. So how do I sum it up? Extraordinary. There is no other city where the atmosphere is all about having fun, living life, and not worrying about what tomorrow might bring. It was quite unbelievable hanging out in the Latin Quarter having a great time with a bunch of French people who spoke not a word of English, and us a group of Americans who spoke at the most 12 words of French (Un, deux, troius, quatre, Notre Dame, merci, merci beacoup, bonjour, toilet, cliché, repertoire, rendezvous) was an illuminating experience.

 It was a beautiful feeling walking through the great cobbled stone streets that Jean Paul Sartre used to walk when he would teach at the Sorbonne, to enter into the same book shop that my idol Ernest Hemingway used to buy his books from, or to walk across the river Seine and to imagine how many people have fallen in love atop these bridges. Paris has an overwhelming feeling of love, happiness, and adventure in every street, in every café, and in every bistro. It makes it hard to imagine that we be living here for the next five weeks.

Tomorrow reality sinks in and we will begin our awful course schedule (four hour blocks of theology, and philosophy four days a week). The cafeteria food here is a total upgrade from Montgoris though.

I’ll keep you up to date on our adventure and our experiences here in Paris.

- Jose Silva

One night I created my own journey trying to find the source of the rotating light beams I was told would be coming out of the Eiffel Tower. I always wanted to visit this site, and after spending just one day in Paris, I inevitably found myself trying to search for it. Of course maps are not for men and I could not be seen lost reading one, thus this made my adventure a little more exciting than it needed to be.

I learned that civil zoning laws make it hopeless to see the tower unless you are directly in line with it. With this said, after making countless turns throughout the maze of Parisian streets, I was in awe once I finally turned that last corner and saw the lighted tower in the night sky. Imagine walking through midtown Manhattan and turning off of Park Ave to suddenly seeing a giant transformer in the middle of  the street with both limbs up to the sky. I was so taken back by the sight of this “Megatron” that a rush of thoughts flooded my head. Am I really in Paris right now? Is this actually the Eiffel Tower? Did that school in Jamaica, Queens actually pull this one off?

I think it would be difficult for the most skilled writer to describe the magnificence of this structure to someone who has not seen it. Of course you can look at pictures or even a film, but even they would not due. To actually stand in front of the tower and look at every detailed twist and turn in the metal, along with its sheer height and massiveness compared to all the people beneath can not be shown through those mediums.

I would recommend anyone who visits Paris to take a stroll by the Eiffel Tower.

Seeing this landmark made me realize how beautiful of a culture these Parisians have created for themselves. The beauty enveloped between the twisted iron, an element associated with strength and muscle is a sight to be seen. Surely this is only my opinion, but I am positive that the Eiffel Tower will bring out fresh thoughts and feelings out of every other person that passes.

Having already spent 5 weeks in Rome, I noticed that my perspective on this world has changed tremendously. In regards to experiencing new cultures, I believe that having the opportunity to independently travel throughout Europe (via St. John’s Global Studies) has made me realize that no matter how much you read about a place, or watch it on TV., there is nothing like actually exploring it for yourself. Television does not let you smell a Parisian bakery or taste an actual Roman pizza. A magazine can not simulate the feeling of riding a Gondola throughout Venice or jumping off a cliff in Capri. Fortunately for us, St. John’s Global Studies is an excellent program that can make the worst of us as well rounded as a circle.

Eric Abla

You have to see it to believe it.

Erin Chalmers