No Hollywood Movie

It is only in Hollywood movies where the complete underdog takes on the big guns and walk away triumphantly in the end. But this is real life and the vuvuzelas went quite last night when the referee made a very "contraversial" decision by sending off Bafana Bafana's goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune. As if the punishment was not enough, he also awarded a penalty. How's that for giving two punishments for the same mistake? The fact that the Uruguayan player was actually offside just before he played his best ever Hollywood performance just rubs more salt into the wound, but that's not unusual, I've seen many referees in my life missing some important "fouls" which have altered the outcome of the game. Besides, I don't think Bafana Bafana really stood a chance last night against Uruguay. Uruguay was for sure the better of the two teams. We tend to forget that Bafana Bafana should not even have played in the World Cup, so at some point they have to fall out. The referee might have made this easier to bare for the Bafana Bafana supporters though, most of them are not disappointed about Bafana's performance, they are more pissed off with the ref's decision.

For all practical reasons Bafana Bafana might have lost their chances already, and people might think that their dreams to reach the second round was scattered along with their dreams to reunite the country, but one thing is for sure, despite their "bad luck" last night they already did a lot of good work for the country. After last night's events I realized that I probably will never become a soccer fan ever, but I will support the Bafana Bafana wherever they play again. And was this not the reason why South Africans needed the World Cup in our country? It was not to transform us all into soccer lovers, but into proud South Africans. If they have managed to touch my heart, I am sure they have touched the hearts of many other South Africans as well. Well done Bafana, I am still proud of you. Oh, and one last word to the Bafana Bafana team..."Moenie worry nie, ons almal dink die ref was 'n p*es!"

It's Here, Feel It!

I was in Luanda during the opening ceremony of the World Cup and on the plane from Luanda to Johannesburg when the opening game started between Bafana Bafana and Mexico. So I basically missed the excitement of the start of the FIFA World Cup completely, and the slogan we've been hearing over and over again, "It's here, feel it", didn't have much meaning to me while I boarded the plane in Luanda.


We took off from Luanda 20 minutes before the kick-off. To be honest, I could've scheduled my flight at a different time, but when I booked it I definitely wasn't thinking of the World Cup. Not very patriotic I know, but if you think that merely a month ago I've never watched one full soccer game in my life, you could maybe understand why. Since I've started watching I've gone from "maybe I will watch more" to "soccer is definitely not for me"...and back to " I am really enjoying this now". Not the soccer game per se, but the vibe, the anticipation, the strong feeling of cohesion that we are experiencing in South Africa at this moment. If you have told me a month ago that I would stand with a lump in my throut hearing that Bafana Bafana have just scored their first goal against Mexico, I would not have believed you. If you have told me that I would have tears in my eyes hearing that they did not lose their first game, I would've felt insulted. But, despite my strange unexplainable emotions I felt on the plane while the captain announced all of this, I still couldn't "feel it". But this was soon to change....

When I landed in Johannesburg I had the weirdest feeling ever. Not only did I feel I was at home like I usually do when I come from abroad, but the electricity was there, it was real, at last I could "feel it". And I was only at the airport. I haven't even been outside on the streets or close to any stadiums, but I could feel the excitement in the air. Not even the Rugby World Cup that was hosted in South Africa created the same feeling. Everywhere people were wearing Bafana Bafana shirts, everyone was radiating this festive feeling and every now and then you could hear a vuvuzela from somewhere in the airport building. Bafana Bafana only drew their game, but the friendly faces that greeted me as I went through Immigration all the way past check-in again gave me another lump in my throat. I was thinking about the people of South Africa, the negative publicity this country gets because of a criminal element that we struggle to eradicate, and the ongoing negativity we have to endure from the doomsayers and media and I just shook my head in disbelieve. Here I was, a white person who was welcomed back by a black lady at Immigration with a "Welcome back to South Africa sir", a black woman at check-in asking me if I had enjoyed the game (she didn't realize at that point that I was on a flight at the time, but was equally disappointed when she heard), and the friendly black faces I met at The Wimpy when I ordered my homecoming Wimpy Burger and Chips, and all I could feel was warmth and friendliness. No matter what happens here, what people say about the ongoing feud between blacks and whites, THIS is my country, THIS is my home, and THIS is where I want to be. There are definitely more good people in this country than bad. All of a sudden I felt really bad for not wearing a yellow Bafana Bafana shirt, but I knew I still had time to make up for it and I will for sure. If soccer could've opened my eyes for what we have here, I am sure it will do the same for many others in this beautiful country. It's here, feel it!

Banana Banana

Last week a local clothing chain was ordered to remove soccer T-shirts from their shelves which shows the South African colours but with the words Banana Banana instead of Bafana Bafana. I agree, maybe it is a bit anti-patriotic, so last night I actually also watched my first full soccer match ever in my effort not to be too obvioulsy "un-patriotic" when it comes to soccer. This was between Bafana Bafana and Bulgaria. Now I know my soccer loving friends (or ex-friends after this) will probably want to crucify me, but here is my opinion on last night's match and on soccer as a sport in general.

I know all the stuff about soccer being the most loved and played sports of all, and the huge amounts of money involved and warra-warra, but this is how I experienced it as a rugby loving spectator. The idea to watch the full game came after I switched on the television and saw that South Africa was leading 1-0. Although I have never supported the Bafana Bafana, or any other soccer team for that matter, I was actually hoping that South Africa would beat these Bulgarians. Just to shut up the critics for a while. South Africa I think is lying around 90th on FIFA's rankings and Bulgaria 39th. Beating them would've really looked good on Bafana Bafana's CV's and would do a lot for their moral. After all, they are just in the World Cup because South Africa is hosting this and we need more good results for nation building, like the Super 14 semi-final and final that is being played in Soweto currently.

Anyway, being a total novice when it comes to soccer, apart from the beach soccer we played as kids, I was surprized to see how many times they kick the ball around to each other without actually moving an inch forward. In the beginning of the second half, Bafana Bafana wasted nearly 10 minutes of playing time by kicking the ball to and thro. And the fact is, the spectators paid for that time too. I was wondering why the Bulgarians were just standing around and watching this happen while they could've made at least an effort to get the ball themselves and see if they could be more productive with it. Afterall, you can only score when you kick the ball in the direction of the net. To get back to the first half. It was not long after I started watching when the Bulgarians actually did exactly that. They kicked the ball towards the net, and by the grace of God, it went in. Score, one all. At this point I could've switched the TV off, because after that, NOTHING happened. As my comment on Facebook this morning regarding my opinion on soccer, it looks to me to be nothing more than a game of luck. Like two blindfolded men trying to hit the bull on a dart board. The one with the most luck wins. Time after time each side had a "corner" kick-in. The players team up in front of the posts, the guy kicks from the corner, and the ball either hits their heads, or they try and kick it in some direction. The direction that the ball heads in has a 50/50 chance of going left or right. If they are lucky, which none of them were for the remainder of the game, the ball might go into the direction of the net. And then there is a dude with gloves making the odds against luck even more ridiculously small.

Take rugby on the other hand. They have different ways of scoring points, even from different positions and directions on the field. The score changes every 5-10 minutes or so. The excitement levels go up and down as they are fighting their way across the field to get to the score line. The adrenaline and excitement never stops. But the soccer players waste time by kicking the ball around while the other teams stands and watches. During the second half I was hoping someone would at least score, ANYone for that matter, just as long as there was something happening. What a disappointment. Their luck was evenly matched, 50% for the Bafana Bafana, and 50% for the Bulgarians and this was concluded in the middle of the first half.

The other thing I noticed was how soft the players were. I guess the hardest knock you will ever get is a kick against the foot or shin. This happened quite a lot, and it reminded me of the days when we used to trip our fellow pupils at school just to piss them off. But you have no idea how much pain such a move inflicts on these guys...or so they make it look like. Grown men rolling around on the grass after he (or "she") was kicked on the boot, not even on the shin. The facial expressions worse than a man that was stabbed for a packet of cigarretes in the streets of Mitchell's Plain. Can you imagine what would happen if they ever land up in a rugby match? It seems the more painful you make it look, the better your chance of getting the ball again through a "professional foul". In the picture above someone illustrating how to fake the excrutiating pain these men have to endure for the love of the game...

I don't think after this I will be converted. I was really hoping last night that by watching a full game, that I would be more interested in the World Cup games. I really hope Bafana Bafana will have better luck in their games to come, but unfortunately I will not be there to see it happen. Pity "banana banana" sounds so similar to Bafana Bafana, because that would not have been so inappropriate to describe this game called soccer in general. Maybe when I get older and my heart cannot take it anymore when the Springboks are trailing behind 21-19 to the Aussies, with 2 minutes left on the clock and doing their last scrum right in front of the Aussies posts with the possibility of scoring that much needed 3 or 5 points still there, then I will start watching soccer and be sure of not too much excitement that could lead to possible fatal heart failure.