olivier in france Posted August 11, 2006 Posted August 11, 2006 What really made me laugh is the song he sang! The AP journalist has not understood much better the words than the Redskins players... the song is a classic drinking song that is well ... XXXX rated!... From espn.com: Bonjour, NFL: French player takes residence at Redskins training camp Associated Press National Football League News Wire ASHBURN, Va. -- Once a year at training camp, the Washington Redskins' veterans force the rookies to stand up and sing, one at a time, after a team dinner. Philippe Gardent sang in French. "I think the audience was in awe," defensive tackle Joe Salave'a said. "No one understood what he was saying." There's no sense in concealing the fact that he's different, so Gardent chose a ditty called "Larirette," about a girl who walks through a forest. It was an appropriate choice, since no one could blame Gardent for feeling lost in the woods one week after arriving from France for his first NFL training camp. "I had only two days rest and still had jet lag in my legs," Gardent said. "But that's the way it is. I have a lot of learning to do. This week I didn't sleep that much. I spent a lot of time with (the) playbook. A lot of players told me if I can learn this playbook I can learn any playbook in the NFL." Gardent is part of a three-year-old NFL program designed to help promote the sport overseas. International players are assigned each year to teams in certain divisions, with the NFC East and AFC North taking part in this year's foreign invasion. The players are guaranteed spots on the practice squad for the entire season, but they cannot be promoted to the active roster. So far, one graduate of the program has returned the following year to make a roster and play in a regular season game. Guard Rolando Cantu from Mexico was on the field with the special teams unit for Arizona in last year's season finale against Indianapolis. Gardent, a linebacker, has as good of a chance as any to become the first player to make a real impact. The Frenchman was the co-defensive MVP in NFL Europe this year, leading with league with 70 tackles for the Cologne Centurions. "He's got a long way to go," linebackers coach Dale Lindsey said. "But he works hard, gives us good effort. He's very intense. He's trying to learn. And for a guy with a limited background, I think he's doing a darn good job." Gardent grew up as a budding alpine skier in Grenoble, but football grabbed his attention after he watched the Green Bay-New England Super Bowl on television in 1997. He joined a local team and later played in college at NSC Marseille, then for the French national team. Eventually, he caught the eye of scouts for NFL Europe, where he has played for four seasons. "Everybody asks me 'Why didn't you play soccer in France?' But you don't choose a sport because it's a national sport in your country," Gardent said. "You choose a sport because you love it." At 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds, Gardent is an acceptable size for a weakside linebacker, but the stat that works against him is his age. He didn't pick up the sport until he was 16 and is now 27, the oldest rookie in camp. He is also somewhat of an awkward pupil for Lindsey. Every snap in every practice is precious, so how much time can the coach devote to a player who wasn't here for the offseason program and has no chance of playing for the team until next season? "I don't want to slight him because he might be a great special teams player," Lindsey said. "We might need him. So I don't want to ignore him, but at the same time I don't want to take away from the other guys." Meanwhile, Gardent is an enjoyable novelty for his teammates. He has educated them about his home country, and fellow linebacker Lemar Marshall interrupted an interview to greet Gardent with a "Bonjour" after Friday's workout. "He's doing pretty well," linebacker Marcus Washington said. "There's a lot coming at him, and it's coming at him fast. That's amazing. I don't know if I could go to France and have to deal with the language and also have to pick up a different defense."
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