We’re used to marriage proposals in football stadiums. They may not be especially common in Italy, but they happen, sometimes with the help of clubs or stewards preparing displays and banners. A new kit being unveiled at the wedding of two supporters, though, is a little less familiar. That’s what Lens did. A Ligue 1 club that has always taken pride in representing an entire community and in its particular relationship with its supporters, Lens are also good at finding ways to have fun on social media — such as that time when a transfer window became a Simpsons spin-off.
As Degaine reports, the club unveiled its new third kit at the wedding of two Lens supporters. Romantic, certainly. We just hope the wedding itself was the real thing and not an elaborate set-up for the occasion. The officiant, after all, was French comedian Thomas Deseur, a devoted Lens supporter, so it’s difficult to imagine the whole thing was entirely spontaneous. The kit is a good one. White, with a diagonal in the club’s Sang et Or colours, it takes its inspiration from Lens shirts worn between 1994 and 1996. Yellow and red details on the collar, shoulders and sleeves complete the look, giving it an elegant, retro feel. Adidas, back as the club’s technical sponsor after a few years away, has done a fine job with the return. The new kit is already available from Lens’s official online store.
The newlyweds appeared in their new shirts through clouds of yellow and red smoke, somewhere in the French countryside. The groom wore his beneath a grey Lens jacket, without a tie. The bride took off the top half of her white dress to pose in the equally white Lens shirt. There was a toast, then the traditional bouquet toss beneath the yellow and red triangles marking out the reception area. The guests posed for the usual photos in the shirts. There were pictures of the kit too, laid out on the grass beside a nearby lake. A wedding, a new shirt, a lot of smoke. The couple, both lifelong Lens supporters, got a day that happened to bring their two great loyalties together. The guests got something a little different from the usual wedding routine. Lens, meanwhile, found another way to bring its supporters into the life of the club.
