OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS - Lyon 2, Troyes 0 / My first match of the Season

I went to my first OL match of the season, where OL eked out a 2-0 victory over the much weaker Troyes, who fought valiantly down 1-0 for most of the match. As you might know, being down only 1-0 means a lot since one equalizer will earn the underdog one point in the league competition with a tie. (Teams get 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. So there is a big difference when a team is leading 2-0 and when it is barely holding on to a 1-0 lead, like tonight.)

Tonight's goals were scored by Cris and Juninho, non-French members of the team but nevertheless integral parts of the offense and defense (Cris being the center fullback).

But wow! Compared to the English in Manchester, these guys are rowdy! Maybe it was from sitting in the North Virage Superieur (translation: upper end-zone, home side), but all around me the French fans were cursing the mistakes of the players and the misjudgments by the referees. Down below in the Virage Inferieur (lower end-zone, hardcore home fans), fans were chanting insults at the Troyes team, whistling and booing their every play while cheering on the local Lyon team with loud cheers (We are Ly-o-nnais!!!!)

Incidentally it's a great stadium, a soccer-only stadium with generous views of the pitch below even in the upper end-zone where I was sitting.

In the middle of the game, some fans in the end zones shot fireworks in the direction of the field. Fortunately they didn't hit anyone, but how surprised I was: up until now, I'd only seen footage of Italian fans pulling this sort of mischief! Now, if somebody tried this sort of thing at a U.S. baseball game or football game ...!