Schirrhein Football

This article talks about the big upset victory that Schirrhein had in 2009 in the Coupe de France football tournament (soccer to us Yankees). It's old news, but I just found out about it.

Schirrhein Boss

Hails

Coupe De France

Giant Killing

Rank outsiders in the Coupe de France, seventh division side Schirrhein, progressed to the last 32 of the competition with a fairytale win over Ligue 2 side Clermont Foot.

Jan 4, 2009 10:23:18 AM

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Languishing in the seventh tier of French football, the Excellence league of the Alsace region, few had given Schirrhein a hope when they faced off against Ligue 2 stalwarts Clermont Foot in the Coupe de France.

At half time the match appeared to be going by the form book as the minnows trailed 2-0, but, in a Hollywood-style ending, the Alsatians scored an incredible four times in the final 26 minutes to power through to the last 32.

“There are always some surprises in the Coupe de France but, when you’re trailing 2-0 at half time against a team that’s fully five divisions above you, it’s unbelievable,” smiled a delighted Hervé Strum, coach of Schirrhein, to the press at full time.

“Legs Of Madness”

Even trailing by two goals at half time, Strum felt his side still had a fighting chance in the match.

“In the first half, Clermont only had three chances but they were able to put the ball in the net twice so I was able to convey a message of hope,” he explained.

“In the second half, I felt our opponents were feverish and that we could put them in difficulty. We reduced the score and then our players got legs of madness.

“This result is not due to chance, there are strong foundations at this club and the players have done a lot of work for three weeks.”

“This is incredible,” exclaimed president Pierre Dillinger. “This was our Mont Blanc, now we must conquer Mount Everest!”

Robin Bairner, Goal.com

Buzzkill-I think they lost 8-0 in their next match.

Also, "LEGS OF MADNESS" is a great name for a band.

A Barbershop Joke

Pleasant. That's The Point

We spent last Thursday through Sunday camping with The Cardinal Gulfstreamers, the RV club that Sue and I belong to. All the members have RV's that are manufactured by Gulfstream Coach and the Cardinal reference is because the club is based in Ohio and the cardinal is our state bird.

We were camped at Krodell Park, close to the town of Point Pleasant, WV. We also spent time across the Ohio River in Gallipolis, OH. ("City of the Gauls" because it was settled by people from France).

We were quite busy and the weather was just great. Sunny, not too hot and no rain at all. We toured a tavern in Gallipolis that was visited by The Marquis de Lafayette, Louis Phillippe (before he was King of France) and Jenny Lind, The Swedish Nightingale, among others. Other activities included a wine tasting party and pasta dinner at The Merry Family Winery, a tour of a replica of Fort Randolph, which was actually on the grounds of Krodell Park where we were camped, and a visit to this year's Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant. The Mothman Festival has been held for more than 40 years and attracts some very "interesting" people (not counting the members of our club). I have included a link in the "Check Out These Blogs" column for those who might want to find out more about "Mothman". The flood wall along the river in Point Pleasant is in the process of being decorated with murals showing the history of the area. You will see some of the murals in the slideshow.

Here are a few pictures

Fire Pit and Browns

Seeing the pictures of the fire pit that Mark built inspired me. Ours is not as massive as the one in Cincinnati, but it makes use of the metal outdoor fireplace that the kids gave us when we had Christmas in San Antonio a few years ago.

In the picture below, you can tell that Joshua Cribbs, Browns star (#16, former Kent State quarterback) is entranced by our rendition of The National Anthem.

Johanny Cash??

This video was posted on Facebook by my FB friend, and likely relative, Jean Claude Halter. The singing is in German, with French subtitles. But I think that you will recognize the tune and then you can figure out the lyrics in English.

Note to Mark: If you need an opening band when you play the Hofbrau House, these guys are a natural.

Update on the Halters in France

It turns out that Jean Claude Halter, who is 58 years old, may be a closer relative than we thought. He tells me that his father was born in 1896 in the village of Schirrhein. Schirrhein is a dual village with Schirrhoffen and that is where the Halters lived who came to Ohio and from whom we are descended. I plan to ask some more questions and give him some info about the Ohio Halters (without being a pest).

On a different note, I think that I may have caused Jean Claude to start playing FarmVille. Yes, I feel guilty. He did not show any connections to FV when I first became his FB friend, but now he is at level 5 and he sent me a mystery gift today. I feel like a drug dealer.

Here is a video posted by Jean Claude on FB. No, it's not porn, despite what it looks like in the picture. It's just rap in French with a rugby theme. I think I understood more of this than I do when I listen to rap in English.

Relatives from France?

Here are some photographs that were posted on FB by my new FB friend Jean Claude Halter, who lives in the same Alsace-Lorraine area that my Halter ancestors left when they came to the U.S. in the 1830's. They were German, but today that region is French. Jean Claude has made a couple of FB comments in German, however most of his posts are in French. Thank goodness for the online translator. The two young men are Brice and Johan. I know that Brice's last name is Halter, but I'm not sure about Johan. It appears that at least some of the French Halters are still in the farming business.



















The young man facing forward below is Brice and the one looking back is Johan.