French national team soccer players from Zinedine Zidane to Kylian Mbappe sport the Gallic Rooster on their jerseys because it is an ancient symbol representing the modern French people. So how did a Latin pun turned revolutionary symbol make its way onto the French jersey?
Scholars trace the Gallic Rooster you see on jerseys, shirts, and in the stands at national matches back to a Latin pun. Look up the first bar joke, and you’ll understand that ancient humor doesn’t always translate to modern ears. The same can be said for the Gallic Rooster. Back in the Roman era, the area roughly corresponding to France and the Low Countries was called Gaul. Some Romans got a real ‘hoot’ from the fact that a person from Gaul was known as a Gallus. Why? Because gallus was the Latin word for rooster. Hilarious, we know.
A Revolutionary Rooster
At first, enemies used the connection to mock the small kingdoms that sprang up after the Romans. However, when the Franks set up their kingdoms in Gaul, they adopted the rooster. On the one hand, it connected the new foreign rulers with the people, and on the other, it represented the Christian belief in the triumph of light over darkness. The Frankish kings thought pretty highly of themselves, it seems.
But what if you were getting rid of kings? Would you keep the rooster? The answer is a clear yes if you’re participating in the French Revolution. While the French Revolution was a major break from the 1300 or so years that preceded it, they weren’t ready to get rid of the Gallic Rooster. Separating heads from kings? No problem. Separating the French people from their Rooster? Unthinkable.
Instead of abandoning it, the revolutionaries in France revived the Gallic Rooster as a symbol of the French people rather than the Monarchy. From then on, there was no stopping its widespread presence in French culture.
The Gallic Rooster Today
You can find the rooster on war memorials, currency, corporate logos, and sports jerseys. If the French national teams represent the French people, they need to keep the people close to their hearts. What better way to do that than by wearing the symbol of the people right on their jerseys? Maybe that was the thought back in 1919 when the French Football Federation emblazoned the French soccer jersey with the Gallic Rooster.
When France won it all back in 2018, they sealed the Rooster’s legacy as one of the greatest icons in soccer history. Their dominance in that tournament and the fact that they almost repeated the feat in 2022 made them one of the world’s most popular teams. Add a superstar in Kylian Mbappe, and you have the recipe for a super-popular jersey.
So now you know why the French national kit features a rooster. All that’s left for you to do is buy an officially licensed jersey to show the world that you bleed bleu for Les Bleus. Grab yours at SoccerPro today!
