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Foreign exchange student Lorris Miglioretti is blown away by what he calls “the show” of OU football.

“It’s quite a show. It’s pretty impressive. It’s, for me, the American way,” said Miglioretti, a first-year student from France.

Miglioretti, a student at the OU College of Law, moved to the U.S. three months ago. Soccer’s never been of great interest to him, but Miglioretti said it is the most popular sport in France and quite possibly all of Europe.

Rugby has gained a lot of popularity in France within the last year, he said. Tennis is very popular as well, he said.

Miglioretti said he started playing tennis at a young age and grew up idolizing tennis star Roger Federer.

Miglioretti also said he was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for tennis in the U.S. Although tennis is a big part of the sports scene in France, he said he believes sports in general are a bigger part of the culture in America.

Sports are not a part of the college experience in France, he added. Athletics and education are entirely separate entities.

Juan Pablo Valdiva Pizarro, a first-year foreign exchange student from Peru, also came to the U.S. three months ago.

Pizarro said soccer is unquestionably the most popular sport in Peru.

Pizarro said he has played soccer his entire life and was not surprised by its unpopularity in America. However, he did say the feeling is a lot like a baseball player having to move to Peru because baseball is nonexistent in his country, he said.

Pizarro also said he shares the same affinity for the college football atmosphere.

“I’ve been to a couple of the [football] games,” Pablo said. “It’s crazy. It’s a huge show with the band and the cheerleaders and all the people there. I love it.”

Ivan Calderoni moved to the U.S. a couple of years ago, spent most of his life in Mexico and said he was first introduced to American football when he came to America. Soccer used to be his favorite sport growing up, but has since become enamored with football and said it is now his favorite sport.

Calderoni, University College freshman, said the change in preference is due to the lack of soccer in the U.S. He frequently watches the NFL’s New England Patriots on television and does all he can to attend every OU football home game, he said.

Calderoni also attended his first basketball game this past weekend when the Sooner women played Georgia and said it was quite a “show.”

“I used to have no interest in basketball, whatsoever, and a couple of my friends from [OU], they took me to the basketball game that women play and it actually was fun,” Calderoni said. “I didn’t know the rules. I know [you’ve] got to make it in the basket, but ... I didn’t know the rules and I enjoyed it.”

Calderoni said he looks forward to attending more OU basketball games in the future.