ANNETTE MARTIN
(Ex-BRIT, NON-FAN OF SOCCER)

rance wins the World Cup
of Soccer at home. Is this
the stuff of fairy tales or

what? Can it be true that a relatively-
new French team knocked off first
Croatia, then the mighty Brazilians to
take soccer's crown of crowns in
France? Not only is it true—or so we
are told—but this Gallic David slew
Goliath by the score of three goals to
none. A massive margin by soccer
standards. No overtime play, no
penalty shoot-outs to decide the
outcome, just three decisive goals in
front of the delirious home crowd.
This type of miracle doesn’t happen
in real life. This is bigger than winning
the lottery on your birthday, more
intoxicating than inheriting Bill Gates’
fortune on your wedding day. As
decades roll by, the 1998 tale of
tance's stupendous victory will be
old, and re-told, until it becomes the
ighth wonder of the world.
enerations of as-yet-unborn French
ildren will ask their great-grandpar-
nts, “Where were you when France
on the World Cup?” And every
oment of that auspicious day will be
tched on the memory, and in the
enes, of every French national.
But who could have predicted such
idyllic result for World Cup 1998
the host country winning soccer's
reatest prize? How did the fairy tale
appen? Is it possible that this unlikely

  

 

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Serendipitous coincidence, fairy tale, or fix?

France wins World Cup of
Soccer in France

finale was nothing more than serendip-
itous coincidence? Was Jupiter aligned
perfectly with Mars? Was the moon in
the seventh house, and does this
signal the dawning of the age of
Aquarius when love will rule
the stars? Maybe not! After
all, it’s just soccer, a sport
like any other, despite the
millions of fans who would
have us believe otherwise. If
coincidence was the true
instigator of this result,
wouldn't the English tennis
player, Tim Henman, have
won Wimbledon? Surely,
Canadian-born Formula One
driver, Jacques Villeneuve, would
win the Canadian Grand Prix in
Montreal? Not necessarily! No matter
how much we might will it to happen,
such serendipity rarely occurs because
true coincidence is an elusive object.
So could France's big win have come
about through “Le Grand Fixe?” Can
we believe that this “pure” game is, like
Caesar's wife, not only above reproach,
but also seen to be above reproach?
Not so long ago, Olympic athletes had
to remain amateurs. Nowadays, some
Olympians not only accept money
from a variety of sources, but often
take a variety of performance-enhanc-
ing chemicals, many of which go unde-
tected. Could soccer's World Cup, this
holiest of holies, have been sullied too?
What better way for the French Tourist
Board to showcase their country than
with a picture-perfect ending to the

  

  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
 
 

long tournament they had hosted? Is it
possible that France had enough
moolah and moxey to bribe its team
into the finale over both cash-
strapped Croatia, and those
proud Brazilians?

Considering all the pre-
games complications—the
scandal surrounding ticket
sales when 60% of seats

were reserved for French
residents; the rash of pre-
cup transportation strikes
and criticisms of such sou-
venirs as hunting knives
emblazoned with the World
Cup logo (tempting for soccer
hooligans?)—it is unlikely that
France could have handled another
complication. Unless French undercov-
er agents were offering an unlimited
supply of vin rouge and Gauloise Bleu
to their team’s opponents, but every-
body knows those colours would clash
with the Brazilian uniforms.

All of which leads to just one con-
clusion. It really was a fairy tale.
Perhaps the entire exhibition was
secretly sponsored by EuroDisney,
which might explain the results. Dreams
can still come true/they can happen to you/ If
you're French at heart... Well, what other
possible explanation could satisfy
world soccer sponsors in Brazil,
Croatia, Germany, England and Ita:

Cup du Monde August 1998