The Six Nations Rugby matches have begun, an annual competition between Ireland, Wales, England, Scotland, France, and Italy. For my US friends: Rugby is something like American football except that you can't pass the ball forward, you can only run forward with it; the scrimmage is called the scrummage, no protective pads, and they never stop except for an injury or penalty, which means they don't get to rest much.
I like watching it, but found myself rooting for Wales, which my English husband wasn't too happy about. But then, I am an inveterate cheerer for the underdog, as well as devil's advocate. Give me an unpopular cause, and I'm like a bulldog.
England won, but only after a very tense game.
Whichever team wins the most points in the whole series wins, so even if a team loses one game, they can still win the trophy. Today, Ireland beat Italy (poor old underdog), and the Irish are playing the French in Paris.
It means several days of continuous rugby in our house; in France we used to have rugby parties, like Americans do on Superbowl Sunday, and everyone seemed to root for a different team. No fisticuffs though, even between the Brits and the French.
(Sandy, can't help thinking of you. You would love it. )