France has been subject to unwarranted stereotypes,stretching back to the time of Napoleon.
The notion of France as a "whiny" country, susceptible to surrender at any time, has been bandied around for as long as I can remember.
This stereotype is far from warranted as this is a country who boasts the World's third-largest military and extensive nuclear capabilities.
However, this has been a bad week for French soccer fans and by extension, France itself.
The French World Cup squad have embarrassed themselves and their country with their reprehensible actions at the World Cup in South Africa.
There is no doubt that it will take a long time to rehabilitate their reputation on the international soccer scene.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the French players (Les Bleus) refused to train this week in order to protest their top player, Nicolas Anelka, being sent home for disciplinary reasons.
The failure to train and an unwillingness to compete resulted in a loss to the largely inferior South African squad in France's final game.
The loss was the culmination of a horrifically disappointing World Cup round for the French, who were winless and failed to qualify for the round of sixteen.
This is an enormous fall from grace for a team who were finalists in the '06 tournament in Germany.
Open conflict on the sidelines and a failure to honour the French soccer fans with even a token effort against South Africa is a blemish against French soccer.
Unfortunately, this pattern on the part of the French squad has been building over the past four years.
The downfall of French soccer began with Zinedene Zidane's infamous headbutt of an Italian defender during the '06 World Cup final.
Today, the downward spiral continues.
Ask Ireland how they feel about the French soccer team.
Ireland failed to earn a berth in the World Cup after losing to France during a preliminary match.
With the game tied and in extra-time, Ireland looked to be assured of a berth into the World Cup.
That is, until France's Thierry Henry turned an obvious hand-ball into a goal for the French side, resulting in the elimination of Ireland from World Cup contention.
While it was clearly a missed call by the referee, Henry remained unapologetic in the face of his obvious and intentional handball that doomed Ireland's chance
to advance.
While Henry may not have had to apologize, a show of humility or a sign of regret may have gone a long way to ease the inevitable tension.
After Zidane's headbutt, Henry's handball and now, the French team's recent actions, France's soccer's reputation could not be worse.
According to a Canadian Press report, French football president
Jean-Pierre Escalettes said that the team had brought "shame" upon the country.
That's an understatement.
France is a beautiful country filled with art, history and exquisite scenery.
The negative stereotypes that endure are mostly the product of?people who are short on the facts.
However, as long as the French team continues to dominate the sports landscape with negative headlines, the negative perceptions will continue to persist.
Could this be Waterloo for French soccer?
