What's that thumping sound in Paris? A dramatic new pre-game Olympics custom

[sl8]

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/04/g-s1-15004/new-paris-olympics-ritual-big-stick

What’s that thumping sound in Paris? A dramatic new pre-game Olympics custom

AUGUST 4, 2024 6:00 AM ET
Emma Bowman



Dan O'Brien, a former American decathlete, bears the brigadier ahead of the High Jump portion of the Decathlon at Stade de France on Friday. He's about to command the attention of the stadium's raucous crowd as part of a new, very French Olympic custom.
Hannah Peters/Getty Images

PARIS — Minutes before tipoff at a men’s 3-on-3 basketball game, a curious act unfolded.

Two men walked onto the court, with them a tall, wooden staff. You could tell by their garb they were not Olympic athletes.

The pair passed the thick stick back and forth, taking it to pound the floor each time.

[...]

It's called the “three ground strikes" — or, les trois coups, s'il vous plait. It’s a new, fittingly French, Olympics ritual that was introduced for the first time this year at the Paris Games.

[...]

[underpants]

1. Thanks. I've been meaning to look that up

[ChazInAz]

2. It's a French theatrical tradition.

Early in my theatre career, I worked for Guy Romans: a French director imported by JFK in his cultural exchange program. Before each performance, he'd step out onstage and beat out a series of five-three-one. This alerted the audience as well as any of us actors still lurking in The Green Room directly under the stage that the festivities were under way.
I never cared much for Guy, but I loved that tradition!