USD Football 1991

FRENCH FOOTBALL

ued to grow and along with it, so did the level of competition. Teams began actively recruiting Americans and Canadians living in France. With more foreign players join- ing the league, new rules were quickly instated limiting teams to no more than a combination of two players from either the United States, Canada, Mexico or Japan. (Mexico or Japan?) The only other major rule is that a player from one of these four countries cannot play at quarterback. Parisian students, lawyers, stockbrokers and even art gallery owners were lining up to put on the pads and start banging their heads together o n wee kends, a pretty amazing trend in a country where a bicycle race is the sporting event of the year. Teams started attracting local sponsor- ship, usually receiving around $3,000, which they•used to cover expenses like new uniforms or for renting a bus for road games. Some teams rai sed as much as $ I0.000 and could afford to hire a coach or a foreign player for their eight-game sea- son, but nothing compared to the deal put

On a road trip to Grenoble, a player reads a magazine dedicated to American football.

After the eight-hour ride, the Rangers run t.hrough plays in a restaurant parking lot.

TOUCHDOWN ILLUSTRATED