There's no real petanque tournament without 'un vrai Marseillais' present. Well, there will be at least one in Miami next week!Xavier Thibaud started playing petanque at 'La Boule Florian' - Marseille's foremost club - at age 12. But he also remained loyal to his first love - soccer - and his hometown soccer team "Olympique de Marseille" (OM in short) . Remember Zidane and Barthez?
So much so that, after moving to New York 6 years ago, he has started a NY fanclub for OM, soon to have its own website. Xavier is the first Maitre d'Hotel at the French Consulate in NY, taking care of all official receptions and functions, which leaves him little time to practice his petanque skills. But the passion is still there! Last year he reached the finals in our annual Bastille Day tournament in Brooklyn.
Although his teammate at the Open, Ray Gilles, is from Lyon (France's second city), Xavier has converted him into an OM fan as well.
Anyone interested in OM in the US can reach the Fan Club at om13_fanclub_nyc@yahoo.com
Update: OM-NewYork Website
PS: we suspect Xavier and Gilles will play in light blue OM T-shirts...
No comments:
Post a Comment