USD Football 1991

FRENCH FOOTBALL

remembers Wagner. "You have 10 keep reminding yourself that these guys didn't grow up playing this game." Another challenge has been with teach- ing the contact pan of the game. "A lot of these guys aren't used to really hilling," explained Wagner. "Football is a violent game, how do you teach violence? Some of the French players get it and some don't." So, going back to the fundamentals, Kelley and Wagner are trying 10 make con- tenders out of the Rangers. The level of contact may be much less than what they are used 10 but the two Americans are paying their dues. They each play both ways. Kelley, 22, who played fullback at Santa Clara, has played guard, tackle, tight end, fullback, lineback- er, defensive end and nosegui rd si nce arri ving in France. Wagner, 23, a strong safety at S.C., who has a similar list of accreditations to his name, lost count after making 27 tackles in a recent game. The coaching pan of the job doesn't get much easier. "Trying 10 coach and play at the same time is not the optimum situa- tion," said Wagner. Kelley, whose French abruptly ends at "bonjour," calls the play in the huddle in English, then one of the play- ers translates it into French. It's easy to smile at the thought of the French playing football. Images of players in berets and shoulder pads, drinking wine and eating Camembert at halftime, may come to mind. But these guys deserve credit, it's not easy being a football player in France. First of all, it's expensive. In addition to team and league fees, each player must fur- nish his own equipment. which can run upwards of $700. The playing conditions are less than perfect. Grass is a luxury, they usually play on convened dirt rugby fields, and the road trips can be brutal. For a recent game in Gre noble. in southern France, the Rangers met at midnight on a Saturday, took an eight-and-a-half-hour bus ride 10 Grenoble, ate breakfast, played a game at I p.m. Sunday, lost, showered, ate dinner and by 6 p.m. they were back on the bus that would arrive at 2 a.m. in Paris, most trying to forget that they had to go to work in just a few hours. American football in France has come a long way since the days when Laurent Plegelatte's Spartacus were a team in search of an opponent. With the beginning of youth leagues, high school programs and the success of teams like the Argonautes, the future of American foot- ball in France looks preny healthy. Who knows? Maybe one day the NFL will have a team with a starting quarterback whose name is Pierre or Jean Claude but, until then, as Monsieur Plegelane would proba- bly say, "vive le football Americain!" •• •

Many of the French teams have cheerleaders, usually the girlfriends of players.

together by a team from southern France last year, Les Argonautes. They amassed over $200,000 in sponsorship by going after large corporations, such as the French airline UTA. With the money, they hired three Canadian coaches, bought heavy workout equipment like blocking sleds and had enough left over to get an ex-pro Canadian to play for them. The Argonautes rolled over opponents on their way to an undefeated season and brought home the coveted Casque D'Or (The Golden Helmet Award) which is kind of like the French version of the Vince Lombardi trophy. The Argonautes success story makes it evident that French football is once again entering a new stage, as fan interest grows and more money becomes available, it seems likely that there will be some sort of semi-pro offshoot of the FFFA in the near future. For the majority of teams though, they're just a bunch of weekend warriors having fun. For some Americans, the league has given them a great opportunity to really experience a foreign country. Tom Kelley and Jered Wagner, both recent graduates of Santa Clara University, learned about the FFFA through a teammate who had played in France the previous season. He also said he could probably get them invited to play if they were interested. Both Kelley and Wagner, who had already been planning a European adventure before going 10 work in "the real world," were up

" ... how do you teach violence? Some of the French players get it and some don't. " -Jered Wagner for the idea. One week later, they were con- tacted by the captain of the Paris Rangers and stockbroker, Didier Zouari, and a seri- ous contract was negotiated. For their pan, the two Americans would both play for and coach the Rangers for one season. In return, they would receive: round-trip plane fare, room and board with a French player's fam- ily, a monthly Metro (subway) pass and $ I00 a week in "beer money." "It was an offer we couldn't refuse," said Kelley. Kelley and Wagner showed up to their first practice not knowing exactly what 10 expect. They had some ideas about offen- sive and defensive formations they wanted to teach the team. They quickly realized that they were getting a little ahead of themselves. ··we would try and run a sim- ple running play and it wouldn't work because our linemen didn·1 know the prop- er blocking techn iques or foo twork,"

TOUCHDOWN ILLUSTRATED