America Wants Caen Relegated

The task is simple for SM Caen this weekend on Matchday 38 for Ligue 1 - win and stay in the top flight (well, unless Saint-Etienne beat Valenciennes by 15 goals). If they lose and Saint-Etienne win (regardless of by how much), they will be relegated. So, who will be the targets of Caen's fury tomorrow? Eh, it's only Les Girondins, who assure themselves a Ligue 1 title with a victory. Boy, it's a good thing that Caen don't have any distractions.



This match is being held at Caen's home, the Stade Michel D'Ornano, but like most clubs Caen are staying in a hotel the night before the match. Caen is located in the Normandie region of France - sound familiar? That's right, it's near Normandy (that's the English spelling) and the 65th anniversary of D-Day is right around the corner. What that means is that there are US officials all over the place right now preparing for President Obama's visit next week. There are also thousands of veterans and visitors coming in for the planned commemoration (although Queen Elizabeth is not among them), but surely a professional football club should be able to focus on the task at hand.

Well, apparently one of the American delegates has contracted swine flu (although it's uncertain if she was already infected before entering the country), has been hospitalized, and has caused other delegation members to be quarantined for a period of time. Even worse is the fact that the hotel at which she was staying was to be the headquarters of SM Caen before their vital match this weekend. Instead, Caen were forced to stay at a hotel in Bayeux. People, that's 6.5 miles away!

If a sleep-deprived and uncomfortable Caen lose their match tomorrow and are relegated, it will be a conspiracy the likes of which hasn't been seen since the dodgy lasagna incident. Does anyone know if Obama is a Saint-Etienne supporter?