For France in Memory of Louise

As we all know, France plays Croatia for the World Cup later today.

Twenty years ago, when the Cup was held in France, my wife, Louise, came home from work at the Inquirer a few days before the opening games and asked if France was any good.  Um, yes, I replied, they had a chance of winning it all.  The reason for her inquiry was that she had picked France in her office pool.

Sure enough, on July 12 at Stade de France in Saint-Denis outside Paris, the French beat Brazil, 3-0, to win the Cup.  They had edged Croatia, 2-1, in the semi-finals a few days earlier.  Louise brought home several hundred dollars and everyone thought she was a soccer genius.  Truth be told though, she had pulled France out of a hat, but she was honest enough to admit it.

In the next two World Cups in 2002 and 2006 we joked about France being Louise's team and rooted for France if they were not playing the United States or Germany.  But like defending champion Germany this year, they did not make it out of the group stage in 2002 and in 2006 they lost to Brazil in a shootout in the final in Berlin.

Sadly, Louise did not live to see another World Cup.  She passed away on December 11, 2006, shortly before what would have been our 37th anniversary.  Today I will be remembering her team and hoping France can win another World Cup for her.