Thanks to New York in French, I, like 2000 other members got free tickets to the French soccer Super Cup, the 2012 Trophée des Champions, which came to the Red Bull Arena for the first time ever in the United States this past Saturday, July 28th.

The game, pitting Montpellier Hérault SC and Olympique Lyonnais was the annual kickoff to the French soccer season. Although it was the fourth consecutive year that the match was held outside of France, it was the first time that the match was played in a country that is not French speaking. 


Not only was the game my first soccer match, but it was also the first time that I had experienced such an animated crowd at a sports event: by the French chants and cheers, one could imagine himself actually seeing the game in France. Even those who were not French and those who did not even speak French were enthusiastically watching the game, including myself, who although never played or actively watched any sport in her life, decided to root for both teams, particularly after Montpellier scored the first goal of the game and I felt badly for Lyon - To my satisfaction and excitement, Lyon quickly tied the game right before halftime, leaving the crowd with enough anticipation to hardly move from their seats.

If I knew more about the sport, I could probably go more into specifics about how the rest of the game played out; however, instead of pretending like I am a sports journalist, I am going to tell you what I think happened afterwards: both teams desperately tried to break the tie before the official end of the game, and by not doing so, left the outcome in the hands of the goalies, who would prevent the players from the opposing team from scoring penalty shots and winning the game. This is something that Lyon did well, winning the game with a final score of 2-2, defined on those penalty shots, 2-4.

For me and perhaps for many others, this was the highlight of the game, creating a suspenseful end to the match and a wonderfully entertaining two hours. Thanks again, New York in French!