The game last night between England and Algeria was rather lacklustre. Gives me hope for Bafana Bafana. I was in the thick of it at the FIFA Fan Park at the Grand Parade. The Grand Parade is where the British used to line up in full military regalia for their parades. These days it has a parking lot on the side nearest the castle and the other side near the bus terminus is where informal vendors have their stalls. That’s when it is not a Fan Park.
The Fan Walk was alive with … you guessed it … vuvuzelas. The foreign fans have taken to them with as much enthusiasm as locals. I saw a really long one that had been modified to make different notes. So long, two guys were carrying it. They were selling vuvu variations at multicoloured coloured stalls along with other items such as padlocks, local fast food, funny hats and raincoats. There were also buskers, dancers and singers along the route. Vuvuzelas have taken over. They are even hanging from the ceiling in the office in the picture. They’re everywhere.
Photo courtesy of P Gillespie
I must be wearing my heart on my sleeve. And for that a few people have suggested that I may have flown the flag a little too high for South Africa. Full time soccer fans deserve massive respect. Loving a team for better or for worse can be a roller-coaster ride. To restate the obvious, the gap between South Africa and the lowest deserving team in this Soccer World Cup is like 50 rank spaces. Whoever we take on, it will be a David and Goliath encounter.
So when we held off Mexico, we did damn well. Even France lost to them last night. We played badly against Uruguay. Our naivety was apparent. I still say – that ref was unnecessarily heavy handed with us.
But the sun came up the next day. Today will not be cold and wet here in Cape Town like it was for Italy vs. Paraguay game. Boris Johnson and a few English luminaries are making appearances in our newspapers. The England vs. Algeria game should be interesting. Hopefully Robert Green can redeem himself.
I am utterly heartbroken. Who knew a referee could dash the spirit of an entire nation in such a blatantly unfair call? How do they get away with it? Face book posts, sms’s, phone calls and newspaper headlines all saying the same thing – that ref took a bad call. He gave our goalie a red card and ignored the two off sides Uruguay players who mysteriously fell to the floor. But life goes on. I guess we are just not used to the theatrics that international players put on to score freebie kicks. I am still proud of our boys. They are above that sort of playing. Viva Bafana Bafana! Viva.
Meanwhile the debate of the vuvuzelas rages on here and abroad. The general feeling is that they lack the flair of impromptu stadium anthems and are more of a dull din than anything else. But love them or hate them, they are not going away and they now come in assorted versions. I’ve seen kuduzelas – shaped like a twisted buck horn, pack up and go vuvuzelas – they break up and reassemble. Bass and soprano vuvuzelas and of course they come in assorted colours and designs to match your outfit or national flag. There are even low noise vuvuzelas out now. And you know what they say? When in Rome ……
Photo courtesy of P Gillepsie
Go to – My Holidays and Trips – at the top of this page to read about other places we have visited. Or just click on – this link.
South Africa is a warm country. However it is the middle of winter here. Snow has fallen on the mountains across our country plunging temperatures to freezing at night. The obligatory trek out to Ceres to see the snow might have to be put on hold with fervent Soccer Cup fever having taken over here. But there is snow closer to the city. Table Mountain rarely sees snow but we had snow fall there yesterday. Eish!
Today is Youth Day and a public holiday. Youth Day is when we commemorate the lives lost in the liberation struggle. Bafana Bafana take on Uruguay in Pretoria this evening.
The local papers are filled with the usual sports analysts bleating on endlessly about the nuances of the games. They are also on about the costs of the World Cup to a developing nation and the FIFA role in all of this. It makes me sad that the west will insist on viewing Africa as less than deserving of this Soccer Cup. Why can’t they be as happy as we are about this?
All I care about is supporting teams in the following order – Bafana Bafana, the African teams and the underdogs in any game. Supporting the underdog is only setting myself up to be disappointed but the North Korea vs. Brazil game lifted my spirits.
Photo courtesy of P Gillespie
One friend has described this Soccer World Cup as a drug. I have no idea how soccer fans do this day in and out, year in and out. Watching soccer is super stressful. I am so excited for the Bafana Bafana game tomorrow. May need a sedative if they win.
Local guesthouses are complaining that they have not seen their expected number of guests. Back packers establishments and hostels are full to the brim. Our B and B is also full for now. The visitors seem to be young and looking for bargains.
In Main Road, Sea Point is “Little Brazil”. Some local organisers have taken over our civic centre and made it a mecca for Brazilian fans. Lucky us, we got their coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira. He clearly knows his Soccer Cup oats.
