What inferences can we draw about the French Open crowds?

Question

I'm of course referring to them booing Maria Sharapova on and off the court in her last match. What inferences can we draw?

A) just an isolated incident, no big deal

B) bad reflection on French tennis fans

C) bad reflection on France as a whole

D) other (please elaborate)

I'd love your opinions.

Answer 1

Fans that dont actually understand the game and cheer when absolutely nothing happens or when a player is ABOUT to serve!!!

dipwipes

Answer 2

Thank you for presenting this question in this way and giving some of us an option that we might otherwise not have had.

I reject option C out of hand as bordering on xenophobia.

Option B is a matter of opinion. I don't happen to think that this reflects badly on French tennis fans but I understand that others are entitled to think that it does.

I'll take Option D.

This is a timely question as I have just seen (on TV) an interview with David Ferrer who faces a match with Monfils,the ultracharismatic SOLE Frenchman left at RG.

The interviewer asked DF what were his feelings about what he was going to be up against in terms of the very patriotic crowd.Was it going to be h**l? asked the interviewer.

DF  shrugged his shoulders and said laughingly,with great good humour,that this was all in a day's work. That ,of course,it was only to be expected that the RG crowd would support their man all the way as vociferously and as boisterously as possible. He said that professionals like himself couldn't allow this to get in his way. He didn't seem perturbed at all. He was laughing, as if the joke were on himself for having the gall to play a quarterfinal RG match against the crowd's darling! Something along the lines of  "my fault for getting myself into this mess,ha-ha-ha".

This is the same attitude I have seen Rafa Nadal take here at RG(where he is never a favourite with the crowd) and most of the other players at other notoriously rowdy opens such as the U.S. Open (yes!), in Madrid(when players are up against Spanish players), in Italy (Davis Cup especially!), and in any and every match ever played in Argentina against Argentinians. My Goodness,I'd like to see a match in Serbia with someone up against Djokovic or Ivanovic for the title!!( In basketball and football they've been known to spit at the rival teams!!)

A lot of fans want sports events to be sports events,not garden parties with the Queen! I have seen nothing at RG so far that I haven't seen at NBA basketball games,football/soccer) matches, rugby,etc etc. all over the world. On the whole,the behaviour is better.

Fans like to interact with the players and show their approval,support,disapproval and reprobation. A player who understands this can go a long way towards winning the crowd over.

Since you refer specifically to Maria Sh.,I have to add that she did nothing to merit any consideration from the RG crowd. She very loudly and audibly said to them  " f**king a**holes ".

More than that,she always comes to RG as if she were on sufferance. She never fails to say in her interviews how much she hates the clay courts and clay court tennis. The French love RG and are rightly proud of their tournament. Maria is always publicly turning up her nose at it.

The RG crowd comes to the tournament to have fun and let their hair down and watch good tennis. they like rooting for their countrymen,for FrancophoNes and for the underdog. They want to interact with the players,be amused by them,be entertained - not insulted.

I wouldn't have booed Maria so mercilessly but maybe she needs to grow up a bit.

You get my star for an interesting question!

Answer 3

B) bad reflection on French tennis fans

The French Open historically has had the most boisterous, unfair and easily aggrivated crowds at any grandslam event. The crowds at the US Open are certainly more animated and loud in terms of capacity but they are mostly fair and just being loud because they are an American crowd. But compared to Wimbledon or even the US Open where the crowds are pretty fair, the crowds at the French Open are pro French to the point where they can really seem unsportsmanship like during matches with foreign players. In the absense of a French player, they tend to root more heavily for players from a country near France or players that have somewhat of a French background or are fluent in French (ie: Justine Henin). They also root heavily for a perceived underdog in the match (as long as that doesn't violate their first principle of rooting for a French player first).

Another thing about French fans at this tournament is that they are very eager to get involved with the match and tend to have a direct influence on the players and the tone of a match. They will start a rhythmical chant on break points or set points, or to pump up the players when there are lulls of uninteresting play going on or delays of play. They are also very quick to boo and whistle players for even the most minor offenses (ie: showing too much frustration or emotion during a match; questioning line calls, etc).

If you remember, the 2003 French Open semifinal between Serena Williams and Justine Henin where Henin held her hand up and Williams was only allowed a second serve-- well the other incident that made that match so ugly was the crowd. They were already rooting for Henin to win, but after the incident when Williams complained they turned completely against her for the rest of the match. They started booing and whistling when she went up to the line to serve then cheered her faults or unforced errors. It was completely inappropriate and reduced Williams to tears after the match. But that is unfortunetely how the French Open crowd sometimes behaves during high profile matches. I'm pretty sure its actually come to be expected now by many players.

But the French Open crowd in no way reflects the attitude of French people in general. I've been to France twice and everybody I interacted with (with the exception of the occasional a**hole) was really nice and tolorant in general. Paris in-particular is a very international city with people from many different backgrounds, ethnicities and national origins and many people speak English and don't seem to have any problems with Americans in general. So I have nothing really bad to say about the French people as citizens, but the French Open crowds definetely don't do them any favors.

Answer 4

B. Bad reflection on French tennis fans. I find them to be very disrespectful to players, can you imagine Maria trying to concentrate on her game and you`ve got the french fans all eyes on her booing and wishing she`d get beat. Its ridiculous. Although i dont think her loss was because of the french crowd lol She had the match there for her to win but let it slip away and made to many errors in the third and Safina saw her chance and took it, she deserved it. But i feel sorry for Maria getting booed off court there was no need for that at all. You cant really say its a bad reflection on France as a whole because thats unfair to people who are decent and respectful. But yeah the french crowd suck !!! No offense to the nice french people in the crowd lol

Vamos Rafa x*x

Answer 5

It's the problem with tv, they show what they choose to show. I'm French so maybe you didn't hear it on your tv but she insulted the public, that's why she was booed. French people are often rude, it's true (they are also with other French people so I know). But what you call rude is also a difference of culture. You can not judge others according to your own culture. Asian people often think that the English people are rude, I don't really know why. And French people think Chinese are rude, but all this is silly, we just don't have the same vision of whate is rude and what is not. French people are less politically correct, and even though I have to admit that, hence the cultural things, they are sometimes rude, this time the girl really deserved to be booed, as she was really direspectful with the public (she used the F... word) and not very fair with the other player, making loud sounds on purpose. As I used to work in Roland Garros, I can tell the public is half foreigners and is a good public, most of the players like to play over there. To conclude, you shouldn't blindly believe what the TV shows you. If I did myself, I would think that the Americans are all fat Christian zealots, the Italians all racists and the middle-eastern all terrorists.

Answer 6

i think is was a disgrace.

this was a great match, that was well fort and fair, they are supposed to be tennis fans, i felt physically sick for Maria when i heard it... she is the world No 1 (at the moment, poss until Monday) and these supposed "tennis fans" gave her no respect at all

it doesn't matter if they like her or not.... this is a professional and very dedicated woman who has reached the top in her sport... they have just watched possibly the best match of the open..... and they boo her off

arrogant pigs......

Answer 7

I dont blame the French if they boo MS.  There's no mute button to drown out her shrieks.

However, irritating or not, she deserves some respect, she's #1 after all.  To boo her when she's down and off-court is definitely rude.  

But that's part of any sports!  Fans can get really passionate.  Look at what happened to Monica Seles (another MS!).

Answer 8

I think it is D... fans are going to have their favorites, and their not-so-favorities.  The French fans are notorious for vociferously expressing both the affection for players and their extreme disfavor.  But I have seen American fans be no different at times.  I'm not going to say that the French fans are 'terrible' for this behavior, nor am I going to say that Maria 'deserves' such treatment because of her growing arrogance.  This is simply professional sports, and the players get paid the big bucks to deal with it.

Answer 9

It's not just France. Look how Europe in general deals with their sports. We'll have to watch Euro in a couple of days and see how bad all the countries are there. I think the French just do what they think. I don't think it was right to 'Boo' Sharapova! It wasn't right no matter who it was. She tried her best. I don't think it's a big deal about the whole topic. The French are nice people. J'aime les Francais.

Answer 10

B.  This particular incident was a bad reflection on the French tennis crowds.  I can understand trying to break the spirit of the player when they are playing against a French player.  After all, this is done pretty much all over the world.  But in this case, the crowds were watching an interesting match and should've simply appreciated that rather than booing one of the players.

Answer 11

I'd say C simply coz it tells the rest of the world how french people are not harbouring any sportsman spirit, they indeed have no manners and don't respect a good player. If this is the general pattern observed over the years then don't u think this is the right conclusion?

Answer 12

option D

maria sharapova did not behave well and she also is always putting down or complaining about the clay. also her screams are really too much to bear!

the crowd has a right to express itself;I don't always agree with them but they have a right. I think the US Open crowd is just the same way,not better not worse.

I'm a nadal fan 100% and I know they don't want him to win at the French open but that's just bad luck for Rafa and worse luck for  French crowd because he will.

Answer 13

a

Answer 14

b

Answer 15

They are always very vocal but that match hammers home the point about how fickle they are. They will be cheering enthusiastically for a player one minute.. and then they will inexplicably turn on them the next. They are the most unpredictable crowd in tennis. Nowhere else can you go from being the darling of the tournament to the most hated player in town so quickly and without warning.

Answer 16

D) Other.

Maria Sharapova is a pretentious, self absorbed, person.

Answer 17

D,

It's pretty obvious why the French booed her if you actually watched the match.  I doubt most people did.  Some people may mistake the French "rudeness" for passionate.  If someone calls me and my country "f'ing aholes" then I'd have a spine and boo them as well.  

Plus, it's known that Sharapova isn't a person of the best character.

Answer 18

I think it says several things.  They are extremely passionate about the things they like, but they are very fickle about it too. And they have no reservations about letting you know if they've changed their mind, often starting out cheering for a certain player then turning on them for whatever reason.  This happened a lot with Amelie Mauresmo, especially if she won the first set then started losing. Not exactly a way to nurture your own when they really need the support.   There is also definitely an air of snobbery among the French fans, especially against Americans in this era (unlike in the 80's with Chris Evert , whom they loved), or in the case of Sharapova American-raised.  Some people say it's because of Sharapova's shrieking that they don't like her, but look how intensely they cheered for the original screamer Monica Seles. They adored Monica.  So who knows what makes the French crowd the way they are.  Blame it on Paris.  But I don't think in general it reflects badly on French people, just their crowd mentality sometimes.  Look what happened to Marie Antoinette.

Answer 19

A calling for Sharapova to tone down her shrieks. Its getting old and quite honestly tennis fans can do without it.

Answer 20

B, becuase the french crowd is known to be a tough crowd and it's not the first time they have done this before, personally i think it's disrespectful to the players.

Answer 21

B.

and they like to whistle. They are very rude.