France = The Michigan Wolverines (Football)

Zinedine Zidane, one of the greatest footballers of all time and any nation, is sadly known to many Americans only as "that guy who did the head-butt."

Desmond Howard rode a great game against the John Cooper-coached Buckeyes to the 1991 Heisman Trophy, only to be completely shut down in the Rose Bowl by the national champion Washington Huskies.

France's main cheer-- "Allez les Bleus"-- literally translates to "Go Blue(s)," but that and the border rivalry with Germany / Ohio State are just the tip of the iceberg for why they and Michigan are such a great match. France and Michigan both have exalted, super-elite reputations-- both among their own fans and the national / global media covering their sports-- that aren't really backed up by results on the field. France has only won the World Cup once, in 1998, when it was the host country. Meanwhile, Michigan has just one national title since 1948, also in 1998, when their title-clinching victory in the Rose Bowl was against Ryan Leaf. To be fair,  the Wolverines did win a lot of championships in the leather helmets era. (And France won the European Championship in 1984 and 2000.)

The expression that many Michigan fans get after learning that their team has won only 1 national title since the Truman Administration

In addition to thinking they're better than they really are (and better than you!), both Les Bleus and the Maize and Blue share a history of importing most of their top talent from places to the south. Pick any great Michigan football player of the last few decades, and there's a good chance he grew up and played high school football in Ohio. Charles Woodson (Fremont, OH), Desmond Howard (Cleveland), and Elvis Grbac (Cleveland) come to mind just off the top of my head. Meanwhile, many of the best French players of the last two decades-- Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry, Lilian Thuram, Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira, and Eric Abidal, to name a few-- were either born in former French colonies in North and West Africa and the Caribbean, or are the children of immigrants. As you can probably imagine, this fact makes many far-right, ultra-nationalists in France pretty upset.

France imploded at the last World Cup, mutinying against their coach as they exited in the group stage without winning a match. However, few players remain from that squad. The 2014 version features a lot of exciting young talent and several freakish athletic specimens who can make you wonder how something that big can move that fast-- I speak mainly of defenders Raphaël Varane and Eliaquim Mangala, and midfielder Paul Pogba. France's biggest question mark is Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, a superbly gifted player who was battling injury at the end of the club season, and whose performances in big matches are uneven at best.