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Plenty of sports teams go out of their way to arrange some pregame spectacles to get the crowd going before things get underway. That includes a rugby club in France that was hoping some parachutists would help amp the fans up before things took an awkward turn when one of them ended up dangling from the roof and sparked a lengthy delay.
There’s no shortage of sporting events in the United States that incorporate the nation’s military in the form of the flyovers that are always guaranteed to get a rise out of the spectators in attendance, but America isn’t the only country that harnesses its armed forces to generate some excitement.
Over the weekend, France’s Toulouse hosted England’s Sale in a European Rugby Champions Cup showdown where the two sides were hoping to advance to the quarterfinal with a win in the round of 16.
You obviously can’t play rugby without a ball, and Toulouse decided to tap three French paratroopers to partake in what was supposed to be a straightforward pregame ceremony where they’d swoop into the stadium and deliver the one being used for the match to the referee.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.
According to CNN, one of the parachutists ended up snagging his canopy on the roof of the stadium and found himself stuck above the stands where spectators in the vicinity were swiftly whisked away as officials—including the team’s mascot—rushed to put inflatable mats in the landing zone in case he ended up falling.
Drama here at Toulouse. Three military parachuters have landed on the pitch and one of them is caught on the roof. Looks like we may have a delayed kick-off. pic.twitter.com/aq6m3HtnD1
— Nik Simon (@Nik_Simon88) April 6, 2025
Both teams were sent to the locker room as firefighters scrambled to assist the parachutist who caused the start of the game to be delayed by 40 minutes, and he thankfully emerged unscathed after he was rescued with the help of a ladder truck.
Carnage in Toulouse, a parachutist got caught on the stadium roof, kick off delayed, fire engines arrived to rescue him and he’s waving to the crowd getting them pumped for the game, only in France!
— Andy Goode (@AndyGoode10) April 6, 2025
Toulouse ended up securing the 38-15 win after the game finally got underway and earned the right to face off against RC Toulon in the quarterfinals.