Four Frenchmen skipped work to go to the World Cup in Philly. They’re already planning to return for an Eagles game
Likes: Cheez Whiz and Italian hoagies. Dislikes: SEPTA and delivery robots.
Eight years ago, when FIFA announced that the World Cup would be coming to the United States in 2026, a student in France felt a rush of excitement. He and his friends had been watching the international soccer tournament on television since they were kids.
They’d never seen it in person. The last time their native country hosted the competition was in 1998, before all four Frenchmen were born. In the years since, they’d tried to make it to a game, but to no avail.
Russia hosted in 2018, but the four friends were unable to get visas. Qatar hosted in 2022, but this time, they were attending different colleges, which made traveling logistically complicated. So, they looked ahead to 2026 and started saving money.
One man picked up extra work shifts at his Parisian brasserie. Another taught English lessons on the side. All four made a conscious effort to cut back on drinking and eating out.
There was one problem. The men worked in upscale restaurants, and summers were extremely busy. The Parisians knew that they wouldn’t be able to get a few days off, let alone a few weeks.
In the spirit of Ferris Bueller, the 20-something-year-olds decided to tell a white lie. And now, three years and $12,000 in savings later, they are in Philadelphia, enjoying everything it has to offer (unbeknownst to their employers).
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“Momo,” the Parisian waiter who organized this trip, participated on the condition that he and his friends’ last names would be omitted (out of fear of losing their jobs).
It was a risk traveling here but one he says has been “absolutely” worth it. For more than a week, the Frenchmen have been exploring the city, rating each experience on a 1-to-3 scale.
Eating through Philadelphia
Their first stop was Pat’s. Momo and his friends — Micha, Anto, and Titi — accidentally ended up at Geno’s. They asked customers where they could find Pat’s, to which he said they responded, “What the [expletive].”
“We turned around and there’s the building,” Momo said. “And we’re like ‘Ohhhh.’”
They each bought two cheesesteaks, with a soda and fries, to compare the difference. It was negligible. Pat’s edged out Geno’s in their rating system, just because they thought the “crown on the cup was cooler.”
What did stand out were the condiments.
“We had what you call Cheez Whiz,” Momo said. “I’ve never had something like this. It was good. Interesting flavor. It’s not cheese, but it was good anyway.”
He added: “Micha wanted me to mention that we enjoy ranch sauce. It is very good. We had this brand, Hidden Valley.”
They’ve since gone to Ricci’s for hoagies. Grandma’s Pizza, Del Rossi’s, and Parc are also on the agenda (that is, if they can get a table at Parc).
“Somebody told me what the hoagie was yesterday,” Momo said. “I had never heard hoagie. So, I got the hoagie today. It was good hoagie, I think it was Italian hoagie.
“We gave Ricci’s a 3 [rating]. It was unique. There’s nothing Italian about it. But it was so good. The sandwich itself, you’d never find it in Italy, but it was so unique that we just enjoyed it. So we gave it three stars.”
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This is a substantial amount of food — and the portions are much bigger than they are in France — but the Frenchmen are quickly burning off the calories. They say they are walking approximately “five miles a day” to see the sights (and save some money).
Exploring the city by foot
The four friends are partially doing this out of necessity. They are staying at an Airbnb in South Philadelphia. SEPTA isn’t as comprehensive as the train system in Paris. But exploring the city by foot has led to some enlightening experiences.
One of the first things they saw were “Philadelphia 250″ signs on buildings and billboards. After conversing among themselves, and coming up with no answers, Momo decided to ask a passerby.
“We said, ‘What is 250?’ ” he said. “‘What are these numbers?’ I asked the man on the street, ‘Sir, what is 250?’ He was like, ‘Our anniversary this year, 250.’
“And I was like, ‘Oh, OK, yes, yes, yes. I understand.’ Because then I remember the whole Revolutionary War stuff. They were telling me fireworks and baseball and all of this other American stuff that we’ve never seen before. So, we said we’ll stick around and we’ll go to it.”
Other areas of confusion have included Uber delivery robots (“in Paris, we just have guys on mopeds”) and knowing where you can and cannot smoke a cigarette.
The smoking alone has led to some interesting encounters. Last Sunday night, while at dinner in Fishtown, the Frenchmen tried to take a smoke break outside a restaurant.
They were promptly told to relocate, and met another local who had been told the same. They started talking about the Eagles — Momo and Micha want to buy a jersey — and he gave them some recommendations.
A few minutes later, they said goodbye, and the man signed off with a “Go Birds.”
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“And I was like, ‘Go Birds?’” Momo said. “And he’s like, ‘Go Birds.’ I thought he meant pigeons or seagulls. I didn’t know he meant Eagles.
“He’s like, ‘People say Go Birds all the time here.’ I was like, ‘Even when the Eagles are not playing?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ That’s interesting. That would be like saying, ‘Allez Paris Saint-Germain’ when Paris Saint-Germain are not playing. Why would you say it now? Just say it later, when they are playing.”
A ‘devastating’ encounter with Rocky
While on another five-mile walk on Wednesday, the Frenchmen decided to see Rocky. They were very excited; Micha and Momo had both watched the film for the first time on their flight over. They weren’t expecting a statue, though.
The four friends said that they thought Rocky was a real person, and assumed they were en route to meet a world-class boxer.
Finding out he was fictional was “devastating,” in Momo’s words. But the visit still earned high marks.
“Me and Micha gave Rocky statue a 10, even though 3 is the highest rating,” he said. “Because we just watched the movie, so we think, ‘Oh this is a 10 rating.’”
While they were there, the Parisians heard about the Rocky curse. Unlike Ecuador’s fans, they will not be falling victim to it.
“I said, ‘Sir, we’ve paid too many American dollars to come this far now to watch France lose to Iraq in Philadelphia, so that will not be happening,’” Momo said. “If people come here and I see it happen, I’ll take [the jersey] off myself. I’m not watching France lose here.”
The four friends, who are staying through the Fourth of July when Philly will host its final World Cup game, have a lot of sights to see until then. On Saturday, they headed to Citizens Bank Park. This week, they’ll try to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
But the main attraction, of course, is Les Bleus, who will play Iraq at Lincoln Financial Field at 5 p.m. Monday (Fox 29). Anto found himself getting emotional about this earlier in the week.
His friend asked what was wrong; Anto said he was in disbelief that the Frenchmen were finally on the precipice of their first World Cup.
“Then I thought about it,” Momo said. “We’ve sacrificed going out with our friends to save up for this. We said on the plane ride, even if something goes wrong we’re going to try to enjoy, because we’ve been saving forever.
“Even seeing France play one game at the World Cup … I’ll be telling my kids about that for the rest of my life. It’s something that I’ll never forget.”
The four friends could’ve gone to other American cities. France has also played in New Jersey, and will play in Boston next Friday. But they chose Philadelphia, and are glad they did.
“It’s funny,” Momo said. “If New York were a little cheaper, we would have gone to New York, and never gotten any of the experiences here. But I’m happy that we picked a city that I feel like most Europeans don’t think about.
“They think about New York and Miami and LA. But now I can go home and tell people, ‘Yo, go to Philadelphia. It’s interesting.’”
He added: “They say that people in Philadelphia are mean and rude. They say the same thing about Paris. It’s not true; the people are very helpful. I feel like people here would help you if you need help, just in the way that people in Paris would do the same. If you need help, people would help you.
“I have not met one mean person. Super helpful and accommodating and hospitable to me and my friends.”
The Frenchmen have enjoyed it so much that they are already planning their next trip, to the Linc in the fall.
It’ll be tricky because the Eagles’ season overlaps with Paris Saint-Germain’s (and the four friends are season-ticket holders). But they’re determined to find a way to make it work.
“We’ve heard of Eagles before,” Momo said. “I’ve heard of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley, when he jumped over that football player. We will definitely come back. And if not for Eagles, just to explore the city.”
In this World Cup, underdogs are stealing the spotlight, the U.S. men are on a roll, and Philadelphia has not only welcomed the world but has given visitors a crash course on just how real the curse of the Rocky Statue can be.
Join Jonathan Tannenwald, the Inquirer's soccer writer, and host Lisa Carlin, analyst for CBS Sports Golazo, as they dissect the matches, the moments, and more as Philly has its moment in soccer's brightest spotlight. Watch our latest episode right here.
