As you probably know by now, Marco Foyot will be coming to America this Fall and he will be in Sonoma, October 19 and 20.
But who exactly is “Marco” Foyot?
For most of the American public the name will draw a blank, but for pétanque aficionados he is a legend.
I don’t know the man personally, but according to what I could glean on the Internet, Marco is an outspoken French pétanque player who over the years has accumulated countless titles and medals.
“Marco” whose real first name is Jean-Marc is now around 60 years old, married with 2 children and has been playing pétanque since he was around 12 years old.
His father who was the president of a pétanque club in the Parisian area introduced him to the game.
By comparison, most American pétanque players took up the game after they retired, way past their prime and (sorry to say) will never be great.
To master a discipline, you need to start practicing shortly after you start walking and few of us do.
Marco is a pétanque globetrotter who preaches “have fun when you play” whenever he goes.
His favorite playing position: “milieu” (middle).
It is a position that I also favor.
He is one of the few people who managed to make a living entirely from the game and he deplores the fact that only a handful can do that.
He has been arguing (hence the controversy) that pétanque champions ought to be able to take home between 5000 and 6000 euros per month.
Needless to say that this statement of his has elicited a few raised eyebrows.
He thinks that over the years pétanque has lost some of its “joie de vivre” and that some people take the game too seriously.
He argues that pétanque ought to remain fun and not be inhibited by New Puritans who don’t want you to breathe or bat an eyelash while they are playing.
He thinks that some players are too aggressive and not friendly enough.
Exactly what I have been saying in previous columns.
Marco has a reputation for his “franc-parler” (one who speaks his mind) or as some others would say, “he has a big mouth”.
“I have sometimes teamed up with people who asked me to play with them he said, but the people you like don’t necessarily make a good team.
On the other hand, sometimes we have a good team and we still lose.”
It is a matter of luck.
And again I agree. No matter how good you are, Lady Luck has to wink at you in order for you to win tournaments.
But you never know the measure of a man until you speak with him face to face, and this is for this reason that I reserve my judgement.
I am looking forward to meet him and form an unbiased opinion.
But regardless of what anybody thinks, “Marco” Foyot is still a star in the pantheon of world pétanque and deserves your attention.
More to follow on that subject…
Alain
