Vuvuzela blast!

I admit soccer is not my fave sport - I prefer volleyball and rugby - soccer maybe comes third in my list - but soccer is a religion in SA and many of my friends go to matches, so I've developed a passion for it too. I've been following the Sundowns for some years and I occasionally go to matches. I like the atmosphere on the stadiums a lot. It's friendly and vibrant, and provides a good opportunity to discharge of some of the emotions and everyday troubles while sharing one's passion with some friends in support of a common cause. There's a distinct soccer culture in this country, and one thing takes a central place in it. One who watches a PSL match either at the stadium or on TV would instantly find out that there's something unique here: this constant buzzing sound, like a swarm of very angry wasps which can be constantly heard throughout the whole duration of the game.

Yes, that's the sound of the VUVUZELA.

And now the Confederations Cup has started, and is hosted by South Africa. It is the big rehearsal before the World Cup next year. Monday's opening ceremony and game at Ellis Park has been endlessly dissected in hundreds of column inches for days, so for my part I'd just point out - I was in the stands nicely placed behind the goalposts that sadly didn't get much action from Bafana Bafana or Iraq, the sound of thousands of vuvuzelas like a cloud of warring wasps buzzing in my ears for hours before and after the match. I can hear it in my head even now.

We kicked off the day by driving into Troyeville for lunch avoiding the park and ride. Chicken livers and Portuguese salad at the Troyeville Hotel's Flamingo restaurant. Then a few block's walk to Ellis Park where the atmosphere was charged, the stands awash with colour. Thousands of South African flags and a small contingent of Iraqi flags, all being waved with pride. The atmosphere was very friendly.

Sure there were some glitches, the sound system wasn't really working for most of the ceremony; the national anthem got shortened leaving everyone singing the wrong words; at some point the beer ran out much to the annoyance of the crew sitting next to us; there were lulls between the ceremony and the game where all 48 000 of us watched a few people try scrub the paint off the tarpaulin that covered the field, and I still can't figure out what that hut was doing there. Then there was the organisers' strange plan of not selling tickets in the first few rows - which meant the stands looked deceptively empty on TV (not a good advert) and the mostly empty corporate suites.

But painting their own t-shirts and then forming a South African flag was inspired, and spelling out the words Ke Nako (celebrate Africa's humanity) and being part of something truly South African was inspiring. And amid the colour and noise there was genuine excitement. The crowd even went so far as to signal to coach Santana that it was time for a substitution - although he may've mistook it for an attempt at the macarena what with the Mexican wave and the singing of Ole, Ole, Ole... On the other hand that may be when the excitement turned to disappointment because of the missed opportunity to take a historic first victory in the Confederation cup.

But still, I am undaunted, and full of pride and ready for the other big show which I'll attend on Sunday night where star-sprinkled Brazil takes on the world champion Italy and it won't matter who finds the back of the net or who doesn't. Just hand me that blasted vuvuzela!


Meanwhile...

What is Vuvuzela and why is it so important to South African soccer culture

How FIFA attempted to impose its elitist Europhile standards on SA, saying the vuvuzela was "annoying"...

...And how they just failed to do that, because you can't uproot the vuvuzela off the SA stadiums.


(Update). We just gave a fine lesson to New Zealand tonight. Yeah, it turns out rugby is not the only sport where we can beat them with ease, no matter if they're All Blacks or All Whites like in this case. Now bring on Spain!