My suggestion: Use this thread to make our presence felt! We can coordinate watering holes, cheering sections, pretty much everything... **** I'm based in Frankfurt and making last-minute arrangements to travel to Lyon and St. Etienne to see our USMNT; I am going to buy single-game tickets to each match once I get to Lyon. Any suggestions on which sections I should request? I want to be as close as possible to the US fan block. U.S. Soccer must have sent out tix by now. As an alternative, if you have tickets and are now unwilling to go but need to unload them, I will buy them at face value and pay for courier service -- just post here and follow up via PM. Act now, or this offer will pass you by!
U.S. Soccer must have sent out tix by now. Uh, no. Me-thinks that if FIFA doesn't have their *************** together (big surprise) we'll be picking up tickets at the U.S. team hotel. The Magpie
U - S - A ! ... U - S - A ! ... I'm flying into Lyon next Wed (day before Turkey match), making it my base of operations. Couldn't get a hotel room pretty much anywhere in St. Etienne, so I'm just driving from Lyon the morning of the game and puttering around. Turkey, Brazil, Cameroon, bring 'em on! Where are people meeting for drinks, etc. before each game? Wouldn't mind the company, since I'm traveling alone from Germany for the week. OFFER re: transportation / First Come, First Serve I am renting a four-door sedan for my stay, and if you are interested in a lift to St. Etienne from Lyon (a) the morning of the match and (b) returning immediately thereafter (i.e., round-trip on my terms), I have room for THREE additional persons. No puking, no psychos, USMNT fan a prerequisite. PM if interested; coordination will follow.
Let me see what's what for now: * Fans who purchased Category I (most expensive)tickets through U.S. Soccer's offer in April appear to be seated in Block "E" of the Jean Bouin ("JB") Section at the Stade Gerland in Lyon, effectively on line with the center circle at field level. This would be for the matches against Brazil and Cameroon. No word yet on where the Category III (least expensive/supporters section) will be either for St. Etienne or Lyon, but hopefully I should know that by later today provided tickets were sent out 2nd Day Air on Monday evening. * U.S. Soccer received the tickets on Monday afternoon and are in the process of being sent out dependent on location and circumstances of the purchasee. * There's a working plan for U.S. supporters to meet up in Lyon prior to heading to the train to St. Etienne. I've suggested the Louis XIV statue (on the horse) in Place Bellecour as the meeting place but we've yet to pick a time, this due to a complete lack of feedback at this point. Perhaps meeting up between 3:00PM and 3:30PM would be an option for those who want to travel as a group? That should leave us enough time to make the trek to Gare Perrache or Gare Lyon Part Dieu to catch a train. Thoughts? * The only bars I've seen mentioned to this point are the Ayers Rock Cafe in Lyon: http://www.ayersrockcafe.com/_html/index_english.html and the Ninkasi Ale House near the stadium in Lyon: http://www.ninkasi.fr Once again, nothing's been set in stone. * An invitation has been extended by Mark Flannery to meet up outside the stadium for a tailgate about two hours prior to the match. He'll have a car, his computer with him so we can watch the "My Way" DVD, and everyone would just BYOB, bring food, etc. to eat, drink there. Once again, no location has been specified but this would be around 5:00PM, about two hours prior to the match. That's all I know... hardly any plans have been confirmed. The Magpie
I'll be getting into St. Etienne around 4 p.m., traffic permitting. That's confirmed For anyone else who's coming in a car (I think there's two or three of you) we should try to meet up somehow so we can park together, that is if we want to do a little tailgate. Contact me via PM so we can exchange numbers.
O.k,. more tickets are beginning to arrive and should our tickets have been purchased in a block, the following would appear to be the Category III seating for those U.S. supporters who bought tickets through U.S. Soccer: St. Etienne: Stade Geoffroy Guichard For the Turkey match, Category III seating for U.S. fans appears to be in Tribune Jean Snella - Block 24 (in the lower deck, corner) Lyon: Stade Gerland For the Brazil match, Category III seating for U.S. fans appears to be in VS-Inferieur (in the lower deck, corner) Block F. For the Brazil match, Category III seating for U.S. fans appears to be in VN-Superieur (in the upper deck,) Block G. Actually, can't really complain about any of the seats, and fingers crossed we'll be right near the action at field level for Brazil and Turkey. The Magpie
I'm only able to make it to the USA vs. Brasil game on the 21st. The good news is that I'm staying in the same hotel as the boys that night! (Provided Captain Splarg was correct with his information -- at least I HOPE he is! ) Is there a spot at the stadium where everyone is meeting before the game? It's likely that I'll be taking a taxi or bus to the game, but it would be nice to meet some of my BigSoccer colleagues at the stadium and have a chat before the game starts ...
be sure to not letting people know that you're an American, French don't like Americans after the war
I will be sure to let people know I am an American. I am very proud of it. People should try to speak French! Great work Magpie and Flanoverseas. I think Ayers Rocks opens at 8 P.M., which will render it useless for pregame festivities.
Hmmm. I have an English accent and sound like an Italian when I speak French. Do the French currently dislike Yanks more than Brits ? Discuss.
Any suggestions for reasonable rooms in Lyon for the Brazil and Cameroon games? Also, a "bump" on the drinking place points. Looking forward to a few glasses of beer (or perhaps wine) with some yanks.
Thanks! As I speak not a word of French and will be spending at least a week in Lyon, this is of great help!
Magpie, Awesome that you have CFC jersey! A rather dashing look, I must say. The French chicks will be all over you. Wait, that reminds me. If you are Joe Ranucci from NJ, I want my forking CFC jersey back. I know you stole it back in junior year! A challange then: beers at 10 paces in Lyon.
No, I'm not Joe Ranucci, and I'll willing drink beer at ten paces ;-). If the French women dig the kit (slightly vintage with the "Corbetts" sponsor logo)then all the better. The Magpie
I will be there for USA vs. Brasil. Took a look at the Ninkasi site, and the bar / club looks awesome. Since it is the near the stadium, would this not be one of the better places to meet pre-game ? Decisions, decisions...
It's very possible that I will have two extra tickets for the US vs. Brasil game in case anyone is interested. I will know for sure by next Monday after I hear back from a work colleague whether or not he needs them. If you're interested, send me a PM ...