Futbol Européen???

Flares, lights, chants, "God Save the Queen." Nope, not here. Sorry, this is not Old Tratford. This is Stade de Geneve, home of Servette FC. Please take a gander at this picture to imagine how empty this stadium is. Ok, now imagine utter emptiness. Okay, now you know the feeling.

I give their die-hard fans credit, Les Garnets don't have much to cheer about. Their club was relegated to the Swiss Thrid division in 2005 after Servette's sponsor went bankrupt. Now a member of the Swiss Challenge League (Division 2), the 30,000 person stadium held a mere 1,500 for this game. Some parts of the stadium were completely blocked off and entrance was only 10 chf=very cheap entertainment in Geneve. What was once one of the most prestigious and respected clubs in the Swiss Axpo, Servette has seen better days. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

The game was not bad; well, at least the second half was good. Honestly, a decent college team in the US (or even a good high school team) could have easily controled this game from start to finish. During the second half, the opposing team's (Concordia Basel FC) keeper flipped off the Servette crowd. Naturally, all the Genevois returned the favor (including the 5-year old sitting 2 seats away from me). The keeper was carded and everytime he touched the ball for the remainder of the game, he was booed loudly, well, relatively loudly.

And, as fate would have it, the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Fun times, right?!?! Les Garnets did have a goal (from my vantage point) that was called back on an offsides call.

I find it funny that in a place where futbol is king, such a well-know team playing in a decently-sized city and in a top-notch stadium (Stade de Geneve was part of Euro Cup 2008--too bad I couldn't have been here 2 months ago...) can't draw a larger fan base. However, this mysetry just adds to the complexity that is Geneve. Les Genevois are so fiercely loyal, to their heritage, to their language, to their city, to the reformers of the Reformation (a blog post to follow) that I cannot understand the lack-of-support for Servette FC. Even the few supporters that I talked with couldn't really find an explanation for this phenomenon. Perhaps they are still embarrased by the bankruptcy and negative publicity.

Go Miami, beat Vandy! Oh, et Allez Servette!

Love & Honor,

Matt