Translation: The Boys of Summer

From a “Sports I Love” standpoint, our year in Nantes has been beyond my wildest dreams. First, in August I discovered that we lived within walking distance of a racetrack and have on several occasions watched live horse racing. Right there, that would have been enough for a perpetual ear-to-ear grin. But wait, there’s more.

Next to a nearby tram stop and even within walking distance exists an ice skating rink that hosts, of all things, a professional ice hockey team. That I would see a professional ice hockey game in France, let alone so close to our home, extended my ear-to-ear grin and added to my jaw dropping. This was beyond perfect.

Add in that I’ve had the distinct pleasure of watching Manon play volleyball and Romain play basketball, both at high levels, and the grin extending and jaw dropping continue.

Today just added to it. Melinda and I watched a couple of innings of a baseball game. In France. And one of the teams was named the Mariners. I’m not joking. It was very, very fun. The game was taking place in the infield at the racetrack. We were going for a little walk when we encountered it. And among the mixture of French and English being spoken (most of the umpire’s calls were in English), was this phrase, “Aller Mariners!”

Go Mariners!