Racing Club: The Fallen Giants Who Play At The 1924 Olympic Stadium 

I was expecting to see another brave display and ultimate defeat, but no, a win from one of Tim's teams. We are truly living in strange times.

I grew up in Colombes, and still remember the 80's revival. My 12 years old brother refused to take 10 years old me to the final game. He was in the junior club and would go with the rest of the amateurs. At the time I thought he didn't care to be burdened with his little sister in front of his pals, but retrospectively, his claim about security, and more precisely lack thereof, were realistic. There are also an Olympic swimming pool and a ice skating place (where Phillipe Candeloro discovered skating) in the "parc de l'île Marante". It was nice to have access to olympic facilities for free in primary and middle school; and to go to a parc immortalised by writer Maupassant and the Impressionists so close to my social project (it is not a pretty town, so we took pride wherever we could). Several members of the chilean band Quilapayún lived in Colombes as refugee after 1973 and they were very popular in the whole area. Many people my generation remember "El Pueblo unido" but my favourite song of theirs is "elegia Al Che Guevara".

big thumbs up just for the quiet “reserves” every time Tim says PSG 😂

I don't know anything about football, but Tim's here so I'm here.

Tim, regarding the amateur status of the PSG players, you didn't watch the PSG reserves, you watched their amateur section. In many countries it is advised and often mandatory that when member-run non-profit football clubs have a professional section they spin it off into a limited liability company that they then own or otherwise control. This shields the amateur club from liabilities and simplifies their tax situation, the tax service starts asking difficult questions when you're raking in lots of TV and merchandise money as a non-profit. The PSG you saw is therefore an amateur club that fields a team in the fifth tier of French football, and while they've apparently sold the professional arm to some dodgy Qataris, both teams still share - presumably through a contractual agreement - a name and a kit.

Same thing happened to Polonia Warszawa, Warsaw's oldest football club. Due to financial (among many others) problems they lost place in top league. They fell all the way down, but are slowly coming back up.

Fun fact: The Olympic scenes for "Chariots of Fire" were actually filmed at Bebington Oval, on the Wirral, which apparently looked much as Colombes did in the 1920s.

Another place of former sporting glory to check out in Paris is the Stade-Vélodrome Jacques Anquetil, where the Tour de France finished before they moved the last stage to the Champs Elysees in 1975, meaning all of Merckx's legendary wins took place there. I cycled in to relive the glory days of my countryman, did a victory lap, and got shouted at by the mildly friendly custodian.

As i was a Colombes resident for years (building just face to face with the stadium entrance), you can also go to the station Colombes and take a bus to get to the Stadium (much more efficient for people with wheelchair and with bunch of merchants to buy stuff like food and drink before going to the match). I didn't knew about its past glory and thanks to you it's now quite a great souvenir for me to rethink about that stadium.

Tim becoming an expert on French old stuff that used to be cool

Just a wonderful collection of music again Tim! I got Match of the Day, Chariots of Fire and Grandstand. (Yeah, I know more British TV themes than is healthy for someone who has never lived in the UK, but well...)

*Men of culture know the best use of the Chariots of Fire music is the Mr. Bean segment of the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony* But seriously though, this accordion version is genius. And it's pretty mind-blowing how it's a hundred years when the Olympics returns to Paris. But still a cool achievement to say your venue has hosted an Olympic event twice on top of a World Cup. Fun fact, the first place to host both a Winter and a Summer Olympic sport was in fact NOT Beijing but rather, Karuizawa in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Karuizawa hosted equestrian for Tokyo 1964 and curling for Nagano 1998.

A similar story can be told for Union SG, the original big team in Brussels, who dominated the league for many years in the pre-WO II era (11 titles across 30 years is quite something). Only to later be surpassed by Daring (later RWDM) and the eventual Anderlecht as biggest and most successfull team in Brussels. In the '60s Union started falling down the rankings and bottomed out in various divisions, only to return last year, winning the second division and finally promoting to first division again. And you'd think that's where the story ends, but at this very moment Union SG, a club with no budget to speak off, holds first place with most goals and only 6 games to go. They might very well embarrass all big clubs. So while unlikely, it's possible for a club like Racing to one day return to glory, we just can't really predict how or when.

I'm intrigued by the concept of Olympic medals for Town Planning. I can only assume that they took one look at what passed for town planning in the 1960s and retired in disgust.

The Bauer where Red Star Paris play and you have done a great video of in the past is getting the same treatment for the Olympics this time for Football. Thanks again for your videos Tim.

Chariots of Fire played on an Accordion. Tim you surpassed yourself once again!

Finn here, thoroughly impressed by your pronounciation of Paavo Nurmi. Best I think I've ever heard from an Englishman. I've always liked how you pay attention to your pronounciations, no matter the language :)

I love the accordion rendition of Vangelis’ Chariots of Fire theme! 🔥

Loving the muzak version of Chariots of Fire in the background

Uruguay has this Stadium as an icon, as their Gold medal win in 1924 is dubbed as a World Cup title (it didn't exist back then). One of the stands in the Estadio Nacional in Montevideo is called... you guessed it "Colombes".

I so appreciated the piano Grandstand theme! 💕

Well, me needing an english man to learn about the fantastic history of a local team just near my place, and hyping me up for their matches, that tells me à lot a lot about my love for football 😅 Excellent video as Always, thanks again!

I had a crazy dream that I was in one of your videos Tim, now I'm nervous when you upload. 😂 Great video as always Mr. Traveller.

This variante of Chariots of Fire you had chosen is brilliant. I love it.

I love it when Tim gives an insight into the cultural identity of a city whether that’s a sports club, some sort of architectural style or just a hidden secret that no one barely knows. This is why I love this channel so much. Keep it up Tim and would love to visit you one day in Paris (always been a fan from the start)!

7:42 oh god this mans broke out with the Laudrup!!!!! brilliant brilliant

This is my sort of team, the underdogs who deserve a following. Great video

"Vangelis - Chariots Of Fire" on accordion. 🤣

The old TCA cricket ground, on the Queens Domain in Hobart, is just like this. Once host to Don Bradman and thousands of passionate fans, it's now little more than a changeroom and a rusting grandstand, and is home to the North Hobart Demons cricket team. Faded glory indeed.. 👍🏏🇦🇺

I love the goalscorer at 7:47 taking a quick nap 😂😂

Making my second ever RU-vid comment to say that this was a trip down memory lane, because in January 2013 I made a pilgrimage (as part of a very slow sort of 'collecting' of men's World Cup final venues) to Colombes. The city was under a thick blanket of snow and I got off the train at the other station and thus had to walk along the dual carriageway to get there, but when I arrived I found an open gate and managed to walk up to the side of the pitch (which had rugby posts up, so it was a nice surprise to find from this video that they do still play football there too). Back then the 'other' main stand across from where you sat was still there, so I was able to stand there for a few minutes and really get a sense of what the place must have looked like back when Mussolini's boys were winning their second World Cup. I very much hope the remodelling, including anything they do after the 2024 Olympics, leaves the one remaining original stand where it is rather than knocking it down and rebuilding in the name of modernisation.

I'm sad when the episode is over. Thanks for your great content!

Always a highlight of my day when I see a Tim traveler video in my feed. This one didn’t disappoint!

Congratulations on getting to the 1/4 million mark in subscriber terms. Well done Tim!

This is amazing! What’s even better is that there were medals for town planning! As a planner myself, I wonder what they had to do! 😆

Loving the match of the day music

Great stuff again Tim. Love the music: MoTD, Chariots of Fire, Grandstand (particularly nimble piano work). I believe yet another once great French football team was Stade Français, now famous for rugby, with the football team in the lower leagues. A had an uncle, Jean Gutewiez, who played for them in the sixties, in which he was a top scorer at one point.

I can't believe you were there, I'm living right next door at the moment!

Tim, I'm an American who doesn't follow real football, only the USA version :). Yet, you still get me excited with stories like this one of a once-mighty club that has fallen on hard times, yet keeps hoping to recover some of its' former glory.

Your grasp of classic theme tunes never ceases to amaze and delight!

And about fallen giants in Italy we can talk about Casale, which is the first Italian team that defeated an English professional side, Reading FC was their victim; which won a title and now plays in Serie D; or Pro Vercelli, which won 7 titles (albeit the last one in 1922), and now plays in the Italian third tier.

Interesting that there is a football Club in Argentina, called, wait for it... Racing. That also uses the same Jersey colours/colors. Nice story as usual and loved Pelé reference mentioned. That guy has more goals that everyone else and he never played on an european team. Bravo!!

wow what a cool video!! as a River Plate & Newcastle supporter, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the greats Francescoli and Ginola have both turned out for the club. One of those lines on Wikipedia usually glossed over.. Fantastic

A lovely tune, ... Vangelis unplugged.

You've got that parisian "ein" at the end of "bonjour" NAILED! EDIT: Oasis backing track!? One of my faves, en plus!

Congratulations on the accordion version of the Chariots Of Fire theme.

Once again, Tim has tricked me to enjoy sports, and sports history! :))

The Oasis track took me a second. Nice touch!

At least it is being rebuilt, even if for hockey. Once again, awesome from Tim!

Very nice. Even the weather was behaving itself.

Lovley video Tim, it was also the filming location for the match footage for the film escape to victory. Sad to see that so much of the stadium has been swept away, from the film footage, you get a great sense of how it used to be.

Happy 250K, Tim! Congratulations! And thanks for the history lesson. I'm not a football fan, but I am a history fan, and I really enjoyed this. Bravo and thanks as always.

I love these videos about old buildings and their legacies and stories

Pitch looks magnificent and what a wonderful story

Especially loving the background music in this video!

Tim, thank you for your videos. They helped me once to go through a very hard part of my life and they are helping me again. They calm my mind and keep me hoping for better times. Thank you very much.

Wonderful video. Thanks Tim.

After Goussainville, here is another city 15min from where I live where I learn something so incredible that I knew nothing about

As always, the music choices were perfect!

Love Racing Club great video cheers 🍺

4:29 - 🤣 Me as well. Lovely story...thank you for this video. ☮

i love your videos and brilliant choise of subjects and the genuine enthousiasem you have for this club and the old stadium... your work is realy special

I love how you present the story. BRAVO FANTISIMO

Thanks for the video. I was there in December 2010 in heavy snow to watch Racing Metro 92 play Saracens and again over Easter 2015 again to watch Racing Metro 92 play Saracens. At that time when Rugby was played there were temporary stands and Portaloos which gave the impression of a very run down stadium.

Allways love the background music!

It hurts to see the stadia in Rio, not even a decade old after the Olympics, fall to such disrepair as the Stade Yves-du-Manoir half a century after their Olympics. Glad to see the venue getting a facelift for 2024 though, at least that's putting existing infrastructure to good use.

Loved hearing the Grandstand theme tune again!

Brilliant video Tim, really enjoyed it! And the music as usual was excellent!

I forgot I subscribed to this channel. For some reason RU-vid decided to hide it and only now bring it back in my recommended videos. That algorithm is so weird! Anyway, great video. Cheers.

Great video Tim. As always love your music.

always love the piano rendition of grandstand!

I often enjoy these amateur games more than the big league games, especially when it’s a former big club that still has somewhat of a supporter base It just feels more „honest“.. Tickets, Food and drink are usually cheap too

Another excellent video Tim, most informative and interesting to learn about the history of this stadium and the club. I have no real interest in football but even I cheered at the 5th goal volley! Glad to see the area has a future and long may the history continue to be written there. As always, the musical choices are spot on.

Finally a new video! Thank you!

This is definitely the funniest channel on RU-vid. Thank you very much for a video about this team, and thank you also for NOT translating everything from English to American, as so many RU-vidrs seem to do. When I was young, I decided to pick one team from every league I could think of, and my team in France was Racing Club. Because I'm cursed, the team quickly vanished. I decided then, at the same time, to both follow Marseille, and detest PSG. EDIT: I loved the Parisy-sounding version of Chariots of Fire.

More underdogs to cheer for! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Amazing video, Tim! So cool that you got to go to a game. And glad for Racing, I hope they get promoted!

Y'know, I really dislike football and how people in my country obsess over it even though we've not won a world cup medal in about 30 years, yet here I am watching a video of some british bloke commentating over a French minor league game because of the historical significance of the stadium. Well played, Tim.

Love this channel cheers Tim

I always love your football video's and it's nice to see the right team win for a change ;)

This video is a very informative showcase of regular Parisien life and you've done a banging good job of making me want to support Racing! You could do a whole series on French and/or Parisien sport teams! Especially with the Olympics coming in the next few years.

Really enjoying the arrangements in the background music :)

Very informative, well done Tim.

LOVE the accordion rendition of the Chariots of Fire theme. When do we get the full Tim Traveller soundtrack release?

Thank you for a wonderful historical and modern reflection of this great sporting venue. Your commentary commanded my attention from the opening moments through conclusion. Sport draws people together at both ends of the ladder. You'll never get to the top without that first rung. And everyone at the top has to meet that first rung again...one day.

I lived few kilometers awy in Argenteuil and use to work in Paris. each day gotta drive my 5cc scooter through Neuilly-Courbevoie-La Garenne Colombes and Colombes. . This place named "Le Stade" is a very unsafe place to be, especially at dawn. Almost got beaten to death by 2 punks who wanted to steal my 50cc scooter bike. I only escaped them because he was unbridled. With the legal version of it I would be only bones 6 feet under by now. While you're in this suburbs. What happened to the olympic station in Courbevoie ? It was still standing in the early '00s and there was a train station named after it.

Great story and very nicely done! loved it.

You're simply flaming marvellous

Your channel is amazing. You deserve a lot more subscribers.

I am glad it's being kept alive such historic places should be protected so the magic and the stories can be passed on to future generations.

Tim your videos are always superb. We agate the same love of quirk and faded glory, but - unlike me - you make something productive out of it. Keep up the great work!

You scored big with this video. Thanks!

When the first goal went in I thought you'd put his height at 5 feet and I wondered why that was so important. It became clear when the second goal was not scored by a forty-foot man that it was not his height.

Love the vids Tim

Love it! See, its videos like this that makes me want to try going to Paris again, last time was abysmal though!

Vaguely remember the pre-Park-de-Prince days when it was home to the national rugby team. Great video, as always, Tim.

The stadium is also where the classic "Escape to Victory" is *set*, but it was filmed in Budapest because it didn't look like itself any more.

In St. Louis, there’s still a stadium in use from the 1904 Olympics/world’s fair. “Francis Olympic Field” it’s quite a small stadium, but still in use

One of your quirky best Tim

Jouer «Chariots of Fire» façon muzette! Bravo, Tim! Il n'y a que toi pour y penser!