It is certainly the biggest sea serpent in the history of French sport over the past forty years. As Roland-Garros approaches, the 10 million ruble question that comes up tirelessly: But-who-who-is-the-Frenchman-who-will-finally-succeed-Yannick-Noah- on-Roland’s-list? A bit like Marie Myriam at Eurovison, in short. And every year, like at Eurovision, it is without the slightest eyebrow raising that we see that it is not yet for today. And most likely not for tomorrow either.
So, failing to win, we commemorate. Chance of the calendar, this year, in addition to celebrating with great fanfare the fortieth anniversary of Yannick Noah’s victory over Parisian ocher, on the occasion of which the Frenchman will be entitled to a fresco on the walls of Roland, the Olympique de Marseille will also put on its 31 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the club’s victory in the Champions League, on Saturday, on the occasion of the reception of Brest at the Vélodrome stadium.
Forty years on one side, thirty on the other, yes, sometimes you have to go back very far to remember the good memories of winning France. Admittedly, in many sports, especially from a collective point of view and national selections, we have nothing to be ashamed of, we think pell-mell of the Blues of football, the blues and blues of handball and basketball or Riner judo (non-exhaustive list). But they, precisely, do not commemorate their past successes more than that. Saying it our way (dumb and nasty), wouldn’t that be a big loser thing?
The commemoration as the unfailing sign of a somewhat pathetic nostalgia and the implacable admission of our total lack of hope for our future chances. “It is mainly when you are waiting for a new trophy, when the previous one inexorably recedes, when the desire for a new victory increases and when you activate this nostalgia”, agrees Patrick Clastres, professor of history of sport at the University of Lausanne.
“We have to move forward, we live too much in the past”
Let’s be honest for two minutes, what normally constituted person – apart from Franck McCourt and his OM Champions Project – imagines OM on the roof of Europe in the decades to come? As far as tennis is concerned, and you only have to look at the face of the draw made this Thursday to be convinced of this, we tell ourselves that we will already be very happy if we have a few survivors and survivors left in the 3rd round of Roland. So we do with what we have, we remember the happy days. For Alexandre Jacquin, head of the sports department of Provence, it is high time to say stop. Even if, paradoxically, his duck will release a special 124-page notebook to celebrate the Olympian victory in C1.
“For me, it should be the last time we celebrate the title of European champions. It’s good, we won’t forget. Today’s OM must gradually take over rather than living in the past. When was the last title? 2012 and the League Cup. In the meantime, how many sidekick clubs have won stuff? Yes, but we are ‘Forever the first’… We have to move forward. You live too much in the past, at some point it’s too much. »
Could this nostalgia be an exclusively French specificity? For Patrick Clastres, it’s a big no. “Sport tends to commemorate from its origins. It’s a great sporting tradition, it’s not new and not specific to France. It is found in all countries, it is part of the history of clubs, selections, we celebrate the big dates, the anniversaries of victories. » Author of the book 1983 on the victory of Yannick Noah, recently published by Flammarion, Antoine Benneteau even thinks that France is not doing enough.
“On the contrary, I find that it’s not very French to commemorate victories, in my opinion we don’t do it enough. I spent four years at the University of Florida, a great sports university in the United States, with great champions like Ryan Lochte in swimming or Christian Taylor, Olympic triple jump champion, Joachim Noah in basketball, and I find that they are in a permanent celebration of the athletes and their victories. It corresponds to a certain culture of winning that should be conveyed more at home. On the one hand, because it’s the least of things, on the other hand, because it helps to inspire the younger generations who are coming, so that they are aware that others have done it and that it is therefore possible. »
And what do we think of all this outside our borders? To find out, we went to ask the opinion of Christopher Clarey, the former tennis mister of the New York Times, about fifteen Roland-Garros on the counter. On arrival, it may not have been the best choice. “Me, you know, I’m not the best example of ‘the foreigner’ because I spent so much time in France, I speak the language and I appreciate your culture. Maybe for other foreigners, it could make you smile, because Noah has only won Roland-Garros once and that was already forty years ago, but I understand the initiative , he confides. And then there is already the statue of Rafael Nadal, who is certainly incredible as a champion but who is not French. It was time for Roland to do something. »
RG’s late awakening to pay tribute to Noah
Finally, at least in the case of Yannick Noah, it may be necessary to do a handstand and take the question upside down. It’s not so much to celebrate the forty years of his victory that is shameful, it’s to do it so late. Antoine Benneteau: “We were talking about it with Yannick when writing the book. He is happy that there is a trace left at Roland-Garros, but I want to say that it was about time! In the other Grand Slam tournaments, there is the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open, there is the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open, and what did we do? We made a statue of Rafael Nadal. So that’s fine, he’s the master of the place, but he’s Spanish. That we have to wait forty years for Yannick to leave an indelible mark on Roland is a bit of a shame. »
Questioned in Benneteau’s book, the person concerned himself admits that the pill has not passed. “The story is that about six months ago, I was going to see a boxing match organized at Roland-Garros with Eleejah and Joalukas (two of his children). It’s the first time I’ve been there with my kids and, once there, I realize that there’s nothing, not a trace of my victory. It made me feel weird…”, says Noah. Rest assured, the error will soon be erased. “Commemorations play an important role in that they serve to forge links between generations,” says the sports historian. Remembering great sagas, great victories, that’s how you create a link between the past and the present. And it must remain above all a moment of joy. Rest assured, therefore, this weekend, from Paris to Marseille, there will be no reason to blush at the idea of celebrating our past glories.