IT could only happen to the French couldn't it.
They qualify for the World Cup in bizarre fashion - courtesy of a blatant handball - which leaves the football world hating them.
Why? Because for some reason, everyone loves the Irish. If they'd diddled Spain out of a World Cup spot no-one would have cared. But not-so the plucky Irish.
Quite what it is about the Irish that makes everyone love them I don't know? Possibly the fact that they never win anything. Possibly the fact that their fans are amazing. Maybe it's just the fact that they plan in emerald green - who knows?
Are they even known at the United Nations as the plucky Irish?
But anyway, the French end up being hated. How to respond? Turn up at South Africa 2010 and dazzle the world with your footballing ability. But that wouldn't be the French way would it. No, they need to add a little je ne sais quoi.
They need drama, they need passion, they need fighting. And not even on the pitch.
Has a football team every imploded so spectacularly before? Who is actually in charge of that shambles? Was Domenech actually picking the team by the time they trudged out for their final humiliation against South Africa?
Is that the first time a country's President has ever ordered an inquiry into the country's World Cup showing? Possibly the North Korean dicator Kim Jung Il will do likewise, but that will be a very different inquiry altogether.
And (this is one for the lovers of French literature and film) how much does Frank Ribery look like Ugolin from the film Jean de Florette?
More to the point, is it possible to sing Ribery without it becoming a remake of the Kings of Leon song of nearly the same name? All mysteries to ponder...