“Ladies and gentlemen, please stand up for the national anthems of Argentina and Japan.”
This is one of those moments I’ll never forget. Every time I watch this video, it makes me want to go back to that day all over again. It’s not even about the patriotism but something far bigger that makes you feel like you are also a part of the game and brings all the passion and the emotions out.
Background of the game we watched
My university had this unique clause in our MBA program, which promised us to take to Paris for a two-week study tour after completing our second semester. It wasn’t compulsory, but the majority of the students agreed to go and we ended up visiting the French capital in the second week of June in 2019.
Now you may ask, who goes to Paris for studying? I mean you aren’t wrong, but hey, if study meant we could have guest lectures from one of the biggest football managers in the world and experience a game between women’s football teams from Argentina and Japan which was part of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, then who would say no to that?
Inside Parc des Princess
The game was on 10th June 2019, we had just reached Paris a couple of days before, knew very little French (we did try to learn but yeah, that’s another story) and we had done a lot of research about the places to visit, the inter-city metro and the French cuisine, but to actually be there and witness everything was a completely different ball game. On our first day in Paris, we walked around in the nearby neighborhood exploring the city, tried the tram for the first time, and ended up getting lost off course and then had our first ever experience with the Paris underground metro, which is like a completely new world in itself.
The next day we had our first meeting with our French counterparts where we were served a nice local breakfast and had a little introductory event with the teachers there. Then we had another guest lecture which ended around lunchtime. Since we had nothing else to do after that, we reached the stadium around 40-45 minutes before the game and to our surprise (or not really), the outside area was already filled with a lot of passionate fans who had gathered for the game. We could also catch a glimpse of both the team buses as they arrived for the clash, and some of my friends were lucky enough to be waved at by the players from the Argentinian team.
Almost all of us had experienced a live game in a stadium before so when we entered Parc des Princess, it felt somehow similar to what we had experienced before except the intensity here was a hundred times more. We were seated right behind one of the goalposts so the view was taken care of (as you can see in both the videos). We couldn’t believe that we were actually there and we had to constantly remind ourselves that it’s actually happening and we are not inside some crazy dream.
If you don’t know about Parc des Princess, in English it translates to Princes Park and is the home of the Ligue-1 football team Paris Saint-German since 1974. It isn’t the biggest stadium in France in terms of its seating capacity or the architectural geniuses, but it looks absolutely stunning under the Parisian blue skies. The stadium hosts some of the top-tier UEFA Champions League Games during Paris Saint Germain’s home games against their European rivals. Owned by the Council of Paris, this stadium is located in the South-West area of Paris and hails in the same vicinity as that of Stade Roland Garros (home of French Open tennis)
The game
It was the first game of the world cup for both sides and though Japan was slightly favorite at the kick-off, the Argentinian women kept their defense tight enough to not let the Japanese forwards take control of the game. The first half went rather quietly as none of the teams managed to break the deadlock.
The second half saw an increase in the intensity by both sides but despite creating some good chances, it wasn’t good enough to sneak in a goal. The game ended in a draw but it was far from being a lackluster game. Just to witness a high-quality game like that in one of the most beautiful settings in Europe was itself a memorable experience for us.
As a matter of fact, it turned out to be one of the only two goalless draws in the entire tournament and for me personally, the couple of games I had seen earlier in Bengaluru, also had no goals recorded in them. I mean there’s no coincidence, but next time I go to a stadium, I would love to see some goals.
Fun memories with the boys
To say that the Paris trip brought our whole batch a lot closer is an understatement. We were all good friends before but being there by ourselves, living together for 15 days brought all of us really close which reflected even after the trip got over and made our second year in the college a memorable one.
When we entered the stadium, everyone was a little nervous as none of us had previously experienced something like this before but as the game went by, the nerves were replaced by the excitement of the game. One of my friends, a huge Royal Challengers Bangalore fan (IPL team), had even brought a huge RCB poster with him and he proudly showcased that from our end of the stands leaving his own mark on the game.
What did we learn?
Yes, I know, you must’ve thought we forgot about the learning part but no, while we were enjoying the game and having the time of our lives, at the same time we were conscious enough to look around and notice all the details that went in arranging an event of such caliber.
Right from the ticketing to stadium management to the food inside the arena, there was a common theme to all of it, and that was how smooth and well-managed everything was. And that’s when I realized that the sports industry cannot be built within a year or two, but is a culmination of a long-term process that starts from creating a community at a grassroots level. The France government started to develop the sporting culture in the country way back in the 80s and 90s understanding the importance of fitness and sports in the everyday life and started building the facilities which helped in imbibing the right attitude and culture. That’s the reason they have an established and developed industry that we see today which helps them produce some of the top-level athletes and teams across different disciplines.
Sports viewing is increasingly being taken over by the experience industry and will have a big impact on the way sports would be broadcasted in the future. As I said the score didn’t really matter to us (or did it?) but the overall experience was so over the top that I still remember every single detail and I guess that’s a perfect testament to their efforts.