“Gyan can you dribble you one & one, Mensah is good in the back, they can beat no one 2 3 defenders, they can beat anyone.” People are starting to gain confidence & reassured pride w/ Ghana.
Having attended the US /Algeria game in preference to the Germany/ Ghana game last minute it was heartbreaking to watch Algeria concede that extra-time goal. Not to take anything away from the US, it’s just their was never enough conviction to think the US deservedly moved to get out of the group stage. I would be considered a traitor by most people back home by rooting against the US, however this was for a greater purpose & sense of pride that African kids growing up have & 1st worlders, well they’ll be disappointed but probably just go back to playing video games.
The Algerian Chant 1,2,3 VIVA L’Algerie was resonating throughout the streets of Pretoria before the game vs. the US last week. I myself got to the stadium 2 hours before & with every African contingent, these Algerian boys are a bit more fanatical about the footballing heroes than most. The Algerian team came out 1 hour before the match dressed in suits & there was a fanatical craze & saluting. All the Algerian kids were going crazy to be acknowledged by their heroes. When you witness something like that you can’t help but root for them.
Leading up to game time I positioned myself in the Algerian faithful & was impressed at a higher level of order among the chaos. There were more kids sitting in the aisles than any other match I'd attended (The Pretoria stadium in particular is the most laid back in regards to security & allows for a more intimate view than the bigger stadiums) smoking cigarettes, such as there weren’t enough Orange Jacket Ushers to deal with them. This was also the only game where the no smoking sign flashes on the big screen every 10 mins. When a kid was caught sitting in a more well to do Algerian’s seat, he was simply suggested the nearest aisle space to stay to camp out. Although the US fan was the majority in number, close to the field, the Algerians have a history of making sure their players can hear & feel them. Preferential treatment also goes for chanting & singing over blowing that awful plastic device. Although the US had more scoring opportunities, Algeria dictated the pace of the game a bit more.
The Algerian Faithful had a a diverse range of chants I haven’t seen before. With a half hour left the entire faithful made a substituting motion w/ their hands all asking for Bou-deh-bouz! Bou-deh-bouz! Repetitiously for 5 minutes. The coach paid no attention & in the end the US goal was something typical of the American fitness running programme. As Belhadj played a great first 70 mins, he was caught dogging it & just didn’t get back, amongst others. Not that a tie was going to do anything for either team but that last min-goal really hurt. To see the faces of those Algerian kids, grown men alike just devastated, having taken so many pics before the match, I chose not to capture the latter. After the initial pain, & frustration of losing, within 5 mins time, all the Algerian faithful picked up the chant once more, 1,2,3 Viva l'Algeria!,1,2,3 Viva l'Algeria! clapping there way out of stadium & back to harsh reality.
On to the Ghana match. Watching from a Bar in Durban, Ghana showed up to play better than any of their previous matches, & really gave the public what one expects from West African football. Physical superiority, speed, flair, just a joy to watch! The US coaching staff figured out something during half time, because they really found a way to finally encounter the ball & take Kevin Prince Boa-teng out of the game. Again the guy Prince played like an animal in the 1st half, perhaps he ran himself a bit dry early. Overall one could see the psychical superiority of the Ghanaian side again start to manifest itself towards the end of the 90 mins & in overtime. Gyan whom went from lousy first touches the last 2 games & blasting the ball all over the place to finally getting it done in the clutch.
The US soccer federation must go to the drawing board & consider what they trying to represent in terms of play. If there was one guy whom I was sure ahead of time had no business being out there against a team like Ghana it was Chernudolo. It’s a double wammy because I’m sure in the States we have at least 5 rights backs who certainly would have been better selections than this guy. If I were to give a rating on a scale of 10, I’d give a generous 2! Heres what Goal.com said about him, Cherundolo: 5.5 - The full-back had his hands full with Ayew and was roasted on more than one occasion in the first half. Ghana seemed intent to attack the flanks and that was bad news for Cherundolo who picked up an early yellow card and was rendered ineffective after that.
Ayew, what a game he had, just fabulous & it’s just a shame the he’ll miss the next match against Uruguay, for a “Fantom Foul”. It’s one thing for the ref to award a foul, but too many yellow cards this tournament for the real footballing fan. Did anybody see that “Fantom red card” when Torres did the same thing against Paraguay?
30 mins before the the US Algeria game in Pretoria last week, I turned & was surprised to see Donovan standing 15 meters away from me doing stretches. I felt maybe I should have said something to him to encourage, or perhaps talk a bit of smack, “Hey man you gonna play big when it counts?” I couldn’t find the words instead I just watched him. I think we all watched him fade or aside from the penalty, he really had no impact whatsoever on the Ghana game. Then again this write-up is about celebrating Africa’s final hope. In the bar in Durban, men began shouting, “I’m an African!” “Africa”!!!! When Gyan scored that cracker in the 93rd! few celebrated as jubilantly as I did, a man hugged me, cradling my head as if it were the soccer ball that had just ended up in the back of the net.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Face of South American Dominance
I advise everyone to tune into Univision today the 21st, there will be a 5 min excerpt on (The Argentine fan lifestyle), I came back from lunch yesterday to our hostel in Pretoria & found an Univision crew had already filmed a special with some real blue collar professional fans, disappointed myself that I was unable to make an appearance, this mail might not be enough notification.
On the experience of lodging w/ a rather zealous & not as open-minded crowd as used to traveling alone, this is just one of the many realities of visiting a country during a World Cup. The real face/ identity of the country is wearing a bit of make-up. After a few days it was easy to be put off by such vulgar & uneducated people, but as the time passes, it’s human nature that we warm-up to each other & it has become incredibly entertaining.
Lets cut to the Bizz. I can picture all the Western media harping at the Disappointing performances by the African Nations. All 6 are going home, I myself never did but a 100 on Ghana, & after playing 70 mins w/ an extra man & not even being able to hold onto the ball at the times I have lost a tremendous amount of faith. The main issue lies in the inability to finish. The best atmosphere yet was the Cameroun vs. Dinamarca game on Saturday. There was something refreshingly old school about how the Cameroonian squad warmed-up. Old school West African style stretches, & hugging exercises reminiscent of adolescent soccer camp drills intended to stimulate strong team chemistry. The Cameroonian faitfull was electric, the drums were rocking, dudes in traditional Cameroonian outfits with feather headpieces were gyrating about, Eto’o scored 20 mins in, everyone got excited, (This is it Africa is here to represent!) The drums were pounding, however this was to be short lived. Cameroun showed a lot of heart, but sometimes this is not enough.
I recall my 1st taxi driver in Jo-burg commenting about Cameroun, (Those boys push to much iron, you can see they can’t even move, only Eto’o, he is the only exception!) another businessman from Zambia 2 days back, (Those boys from Cameroun spend more time in the gym then they do training, they’re too big those country boys.) Makoun who plays in Lyon played awful as soon as he came on, directly responsible for the game winning goal by Denmark, you don’t let the man beat you instep, with an easy shot towards goal, if anything you force him to the line so that he still has to play the ball back, that’s just for starters! Emana the number 10 for Cameroun looked more like a body-building stopper. Although Emana played respectively well, it’s when having to create for your teammates, & having poise in front of the net that you have to demonstrate your worth. That Cameroun lost again Denmark showcased all the weaknesses in African football.
I myself never did put 100 dollars on Ghana, & after 70 mins up a man on a mediocre Australia, if one were tuning into the game in the 2nd half, you would never know they had an extra man advantage. It’s clear that being a strong defensive minded team, aside from Anna & Kevin Prince, they almost looked uneasy passing the ball in the midfield. As a whole the West African teams overall want to play defense & then counter attack with pace.
The Brasil game last night was an absolute Samba Baile. Clinical in imposing their will on the game, & I can picture the western media suggesting what an even battle it was going to be since Brasil had initially struggled to figure out North Korea’s communist defense network. For me it was pure intuition that when a great like Luis Fabiano has an awful game one day, (LOOK Out) because he’s coming for blood the next! I predicted Fabiano would get 2 & Brasil would get 4 to silence the critics. (3-1) wasn’t that far off.
The reality is all 6 African teams are going home, save Ghana, if they can manage a tie vs. Germany & or an Algerian win vs. the US. While, it seems clear that all 5 South American teams will make it into the final 16, with potentially 4 of the last 8 being South American, total dominance!
While most want to see the 2nd half vs. Slovenia Estados Unidos team come to play against Algeria, as is when coming to America, you never know what you’re going to get. I myself would give the edge to US on paper, but these games tend to be monumental for so many reasons. Speaking w/ Algerians yesterday, I was given a whole education on the structure of African soccer politics; I’ll give the short version. How the African teams have to go through hell just to qualify for the World Cup. The breed of the Northern African football is distinct from West Africa, not so much run & gun, however they have an ability to impose their swagger on a game, as demonstrated vs. a lack luster England.
I called it last December after the draw, amongst the salty unraveling of a rightfully rubbish French side with a politically backed & awful coach leaving out Algerians like Benzema & Nasri. Zidane himself has been attending the Algerian matches, supposedly the only African Nation to take their independence after a long bloody civil war, HABIBI, let me tell you I would not want to bet against Algeria in the last match. It’s going to be a killer! & remember this, the more physical the match, the more this benefits the Algerians who will go back to instinctively playing pick-up in their dirt yards, drawing fouls & getting under the skin of an over anxious US squad. No attachment one way or the other. Slovenia ties England. & Algeria shocks US 2-1 to go through.
On the experience of lodging w/ a rather zealous & not as open-minded crowd as used to traveling alone, this is just one of the many realities of visiting a country during a World Cup. The real face/ identity of the country is wearing a bit of make-up. After a few days it was easy to be put off by such vulgar & uneducated people, but as the time passes, it’s human nature that we warm-up to each other & it has become incredibly entertaining.
Lets cut to the Bizz. I can picture all the Western media harping at the Disappointing performances by the African Nations. All 6 are going home, I myself never did but a 100 on Ghana, & after playing 70 mins w/ an extra man & not even being able to hold onto the ball at the times I have lost a tremendous amount of faith. The main issue lies in the inability to finish. The best atmosphere yet was the Cameroun vs. Dinamarca game on Saturday. There was something refreshingly old school about how the Cameroonian squad warmed-up. Old school West African style stretches, & hugging exercises reminiscent of adolescent soccer camp drills intended to stimulate strong team chemistry. The Cameroonian faitfull was electric, the drums were rocking, dudes in traditional Cameroonian outfits with feather headpieces were gyrating about, Eto’o scored 20 mins in, everyone got excited, (This is it Africa is here to represent!) The drums were pounding, however this was to be short lived. Cameroun showed a lot of heart, but sometimes this is not enough.
I recall my 1st taxi driver in Jo-burg commenting about Cameroun, (Those boys push to much iron, you can see they can’t even move, only Eto’o, he is the only exception!) another businessman from Zambia 2 days back, (Those boys from Cameroun spend more time in the gym then they do training, they’re too big those country boys.) Makoun who plays in Lyon played awful as soon as he came on, directly responsible for the game winning goal by Denmark, you don’t let the man beat you instep, with an easy shot towards goal, if anything you force him to the line so that he still has to play the ball back, that’s just for starters! Emana the number 10 for Cameroun looked more like a body-building stopper. Although Emana played respectively well, it’s when having to create for your teammates, & having poise in front of the net that you have to demonstrate your worth. That Cameroun lost again Denmark showcased all the weaknesses in African football.
I myself never did put 100 dollars on Ghana, & after 70 mins up a man on a mediocre Australia, if one were tuning into the game in the 2nd half, you would never know they had an extra man advantage. It’s clear that being a strong defensive minded team, aside from Anna & Kevin Prince, they almost looked uneasy passing the ball in the midfield. As a whole the West African teams overall want to play defense & then counter attack with pace.
The Brasil game last night was an absolute Samba Baile. Clinical in imposing their will on the game, & I can picture the western media suggesting what an even battle it was going to be since Brasil had initially struggled to figure out North Korea’s communist defense network. For me it was pure intuition that when a great like Luis Fabiano has an awful game one day, (LOOK Out) because he’s coming for blood the next! I predicted Fabiano would get 2 & Brasil would get 4 to silence the critics. (3-1) wasn’t that far off.
The reality is all 6 African teams are going home, save Ghana, if they can manage a tie vs. Germany & or an Algerian win vs. the US. While, it seems clear that all 5 South American teams will make it into the final 16, with potentially 4 of the last 8 being South American, total dominance!
While most want to see the 2nd half vs. Slovenia Estados Unidos team come to play against Algeria, as is when coming to America, you never know what you’re going to get. I myself would give the edge to US on paper, but these games tend to be monumental for so many reasons. Speaking w/ Algerians yesterday, I was given a whole education on the structure of African soccer politics; I’ll give the short version. How the African teams have to go through hell just to qualify for the World Cup. The breed of the Northern African football is distinct from West Africa, not so much run & gun, however they have an ability to impose their swagger on a game, as demonstrated vs. a lack luster England.
I called it last December after the draw, amongst the salty unraveling of a rightfully rubbish French side with a politically backed & awful coach leaving out Algerians like Benzema & Nasri. Zidane himself has been attending the Algerian matches, supposedly the only African Nation to take their independence after a long bloody civil war, HABIBI, let me tell you I would not want to bet against Algeria in the last match. It’s going to be a killer! & remember this, the more physical the match, the more this benefits the Algerians who will go back to instinctively playing pick-up in their dirt yards, drawing fouls & getting under the skin of an over anxious US squad. No attachment one way or the other. Slovenia ties England. & Algeria shocks US 2-1 to go through.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Tranquil Tshwane
Somehow the Arg vs. Nig experience was not nearly as extravagant as I had fantasized. It was wonderful to be seated 3rd row right near the corner flag to view the match in its entirety. However there was mild disillusionment that the Nigerian faithful were not stronger represented. In many ways if not for the obnoxious Vuvuzelas, it was nearly a home field advantage for the Argentineans who are apparently 10,000 represented. (That not including second parties like myself who feel a stronger attachment to Argentine national team than the US, hence add an extra 5-10 thousand).
A Nigerian friend suggested that there are over 1 million Nigerians living in South Africa, so where’s the national pride & support? Whereas the Nigerian football was at average at best,(Aside from the goal keeping),it was the same for their fan support.
Contrary to West Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria lacking a continuity & unity when time for battle, the recent powerhouse in Ghana showed its true colors! Arriving in Pretoria Sunday at noon taxied from Jo-burg by our Taxi driver JUSTICE, we dropped the bags & headed straight for the stadium within walking distance. Pretoria/Tshwane is a sigh of relief from a paranoid & congestion ridden Johannesburg. For starters the 44,000 capacity stadium has a much more intimate feel than the larger more publicized stadiums.
There were some serious question marks for both Serbia & Ghana going into the match. Still, there was a glowing pride in the Ghanaians & assured self confidence that they would win, lacking in the Nigerian faithful & further debacle demonstrated by Cameroun with a pitiful performance losing 1-0 against Japon. A Ghanaian woman was being interviewed outside the stadium 1 hour before game-time by Ghanaian TV, “I’m sure we’re going to win, as Ghanaians we always take the lead for Africa, we have other players to replace Essien, we are going to triumph, I am sure of it!”
The energy in the stadium was majority Ghanaian support. Luckily Eric & I were seated right behind the Serbian Ultras. There was an incident I found very disturbing at the beginning of the match. The Serbian Ultras were joyously jumping up & down chanting, while most S. African locals seated near us were demanding they sit down & be quiet. I’m not sure if this comes from the British influence of, sit politely like a gentleman & mind your gin & tonic while viewing cricket. I myself tried to be suggestive of a stand & join in on the raucous model.
The match was fairly open & definitely physical, this guy Kevin Prince Boateng was a monster in the central midfield for Ghana. His demeanor suggested he was running the team, a German born citizen, who had attained a Ghanaian nationalization right before the cup, & thus far has been the most influential player in the first round of games. It was great to see Ghana win, however I was a little perturbed at the exalting celebration of beating an average Serbian side when the motive should be to go deep in the tournament.
While the easy response to, “Wow! How exciting is it to be there?” is a ,“Yeah it’s amazing”, there are many frustrating elements about the structure of the tournament , it’s hard to know where to begin.
1.Street food is near non-existent! Rather, relegated far away from any walking distance of stadiums & fan zones. Thus, one is left with (Broswerger Sausages to eat) & to drink Coke or Budweiser, that’s it!
2.Knock off merchandise/ gear for the real fan is also non-existent, “This is Africa!” Who is going to afford $80 for official jersey prices, the same value of entry to a match, totally absurd!
3.Why millions of dollars to build stadiums of which some are only hosting 3 matches. Then, ensure that the stadium is half-empty because FIFA is only thinking about profit. Why are the tickets not given away last minute to local kids to ensure that the stadiums are full? Isn’t that what the world cup is supposed to be about?
4.There is something wrong with the balls! After watching most of the first 10 matches, something is wrong with so many top- class players blasting the ball 20 meters wide or way over goal. No goals from deep outside shots! Aside from the Cristiano Ronaldo Rocket that hit the post yesterday, take note! What a game that was, Ivory Coast really blew their chances, It looked as if they didn’t want to win, with the lack of finishing & last minute not taking the corner kick in time!
5.The Vuvuzelas may sound cool on your TV set back home giving this bee-hive sound effect, or suggesting an intense stadium atmosphere. However they are an awful ignorant man’s muzzle. They are damaging to ears & mute out the drumming, singing & chanting of the “real fans” who travel across the world to rep their countries. I won’t even begin with the music, 90% of tourists will leave South Africa in a few weeks & have no idea, or never been told or listened to Kwaito music. I can say it’s those small moments in a moving vehicle listening to melodic Kwaito, where I feel alive here in South Africa.
6.The gloom of disillusionment on many Black South African laborer faces. Many knowingly are contracted for a month & will be unemployed as soon as the tournament ends. Speaking with an Algerian, (The Algerian camp 1,600 strong is stationed in Pretoria.), ”You can see they are marginalized & disempowered”
7.The South African National Soccer team is playing for something really massive! I see them already facing Argentina in the round of 16 already at this early juncture.
A Nigerian friend suggested that there are over 1 million Nigerians living in South Africa, so where’s the national pride & support? Whereas the Nigerian football was at average at best,(Aside from the goal keeping),it was the same for their fan support.
Contrary to West Africa’s most populous nation Nigeria lacking a continuity & unity when time for battle, the recent powerhouse in Ghana showed its true colors! Arriving in Pretoria Sunday at noon taxied from Jo-burg by our Taxi driver JUSTICE, we dropped the bags & headed straight for the stadium within walking distance. Pretoria/Tshwane is a sigh of relief from a paranoid & congestion ridden Johannesburg. For starters the 44,000 capacity stadium has a much more intimate feel than the larger more publicized stadiums.
There were some serious question marks for both Serbia & Ghana going into the match. Still, there was a glowing pride in the Ghanaians & assured self confidence that they would win, lacking in the Nigerian faithful & further debacle demonstrated by Cameroun with a pitiful performance losing 1-0 against Japon. A Ghanaian woman was being interviewed outside the stadium 1 hour before game-time by Ghanaian TV, “I’m sure we’re going to win, as Ghanaians we always take the lead for Africa, we have other players to replace Essien, we are going to triumph, I am sure of it!”
The energy in the stadium was majority Ghanaian support. Luckily Eric & I were seated right behind the Serbian Ultras. There was an incident I found very disturbing at the beginning of the match. The Serbian Ultras were joyously jumping up & down chanting, while most S. African locals seated near us were demanding they sit down & be quiet. I’m not sure if this comes from the British influence of, sit politely like a gentleman & mind your gin & tonic while viewing cricket. I myself tried to be suggestive of a stand & join in on the raucous model.
The match was fairly open & definitely physical, this guy Kevin Prince Boateng was a monster in the central midfield for Ghana. His demeanor suggested he was running the team, a German born citizen, who had attained a Ghanaian nationalization right before the cup, & thus far has been the most influential player in the first round of games. It was great to see Ghana win, however I was a little perturbed at the exalting celebration of beating an average Serbian side when the motive should be to go deep in the tournament.
While the easy response to, “Wow! How exciting is it to be there?” is a ,“Yeah it’s amazing”, there are many frustrating elements about the structure of the tournament , it’s hard to know where to begin.
1.Street food is near non-existent! Rather, relegated far away from any walking distance of stadiums & fan zones. Thus, one is left with (Broswerger Sausages to eat) & to drink Coke or Budweiser, that’s it!
2.Knock off merchandise/ gear for the real fan is also non-existent, “This is Africa!” Who is going to afford $80 for official jersey prices, the same value of entry to a match, totally absurd!
3.Why millions of dollars to build stadiums of which some are only hosting 3 matches. Then, ensure that the stadium is half-empty because FIFA is only thinking about profit. Why are the tickets not given away last minute to local kids to ensure that the stadiums are full? Isn’t that what the world cup is supposed to be about?
4.There is something wrong with the balls! After watching most of the first 10 matches, something is wrong with so many top- class players blasting the ball 20 meters wide or way over goal. No goals from deep outside shots! Aside from the Cristiano Ronaldo Rocket that hit the post yesterday, take note! What a game that was, Ivory Coast really blew their chances, It looked as if they didn’t want to win, with the lack of finishing & last minute not taking the corner kick in time!
5.The Vuvuzelas may sound cool on your TV set back home giving this bee-hive sound effect, or suggesting an intense stadium atmosphere. However they are an awful ignorant man’s muzzle. They are damaging to ears & mute out the drumming, singing & chanting of the “real fans” who travel across the world to rep their countries. I won’t even begin with the music, 90% of tourists will leave South Africa in a few weeks & have no idea, or never been told or listened to Kwaito music. I can say it’s those small moments in a moving vehicle listening to melodic Kwaito, where I feel alive here in South Africa.
6.The gloom of disillusionment on many Black South African laborer faces. Many knowingly are contracted for a month & will be unemployed as soon as the tournament ends. Speaking with an Algerian, (The Algerian camp 1,600 strong is stationed in Pretoria.), ”You can see they are marginalized & disempowered”
7.The South African National Soccer team is playing for something really massive! I see them already facing Argentina in the round of 16 already at this early juncture.
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Richest Man in SOWETO.
What started as a ¨Where do we want to watch the Opening Game?¨, Eric & I were bordering on satying at our hostal & saving up energy for the Arg vs. Nig Match the following day. We were talked into joing a group of miscelaneous foreigners to attend a Fifa Sponsored ¨Fan Zone¨. What we initially envsioned as a mainly tourist attraction with over-priced food & drink turned into something uniquely Sowetan.
We were driven as a surprise 1st to Soccer City for what turned out to be a drop-off point for the hostal manager Mama Fefe. Catching a seperate bus from stadium en route to Soweto stuck in traffic Eric commented, ¨This was a really bad idea!¨
Upon arrival at the Fan Zone, a black sea of mass blowing ¨Vuvuzelas¨, earplugs are a life saver. There was one 30 meter screen for the entire community, somewhere between 30-50 thousand a rough estimate. Some experiences are indescribeable. I´ve never had so many people grab me & then motion, ¨Can I have one, (Foto)?¨ or ¨How´s it?¨. Within the norm of extreme poverty & lack of education of the Black South African, makes up for in sincerity & genuine curiosity. The 1st half I surely thought that Mexico would grab the lead. During halftime I wondered around & snapped pics of kids who had climbed into trees, to atain amore relaxed view of the on TV Screen. There was a magnetic energy that one subconciosly felt would will South Africa to victory. Having traveled the world & comparing to soccer crazed Brasil & Argentina, even a Brasilian friend Tadeu (a Corintians supporter from Sao Paulo) described it as, ¨I´ve never experienced- seen anything like this¨, it was deafening maddness!
As the final whistle blew capping a a 1-1 tie between South Africa & Mexico, the sun had just but all dissapered & the open grass space turned into an even-more joyous mayhem with fireworks, glowing lights, screeching cars, little space to maneouver ,& Kwaito music thumping from every automobile. Crossing a road to catch a Mini Bus out of the Chaos a young boy shouted, ¨Welcome to Fucking Soweto!¨ That struck a strong chord of reality.
As we partitoned a mini-bus to deliver us westerners back to our calm suburb an hostal in Emmarentia, our van driver asked if he could stop for some ¨Juice¨ - Gasoline. The gas station had the open atmosphere of a Kwaito dance fest, & turned into something of a comedic 20 min delay. While wearing earplugs throughout the entire Soweto Experience, I can´t compare the rawéxperience as something other than a complete over-stimulation of energy. While taking over 200 fotos, no photo can truly sum-up the experience of feeling on a humanistic level, the Richest Man in Soweto. People with relatively nothing materialistically, shareing what little they have, wether a hand shake or a South Africa hat. I had a hard time sleeping I for the next 2 days to give an idea of fow intense the energy was.
Somebody old me afterwards that when jumping on the 2nd bus to Soweto a Mexican was so excited to be arriving at the stadium, that he accidently dropped his ticket ubknowingly, a South African picked it up & dissapeared into the mass.
We were driven as a surprise 1st to Soccer City for what turned out to be a drop-off point for the hostal manager Mama Fefe. Catching a seperate bus from stadium en route to Soweto stuck in traffic Eric commented, ¨This was a really bad idea!¨
Upon arrival at the Fan Zone, a black sea of mass blowing ¨Vuvuzelas¨, earplugs are a life saver. There was one 30 meter screen for the entire community, somewhere between 30-50 thousand a rough estimate. Some experiences are indescribeable. I´ve never had so many people grab me & then motion, ¨Can I have one, (Foto)?¨ or ¨How´s it?¨. Within the norm of extreme poverty & lack of education of the Black South African, makes up for in sincerity & genuine curiosity. The 1st half I surely thought that Mexico would grab the lead. During halftime I wondered around & snapped pics of kids who had climbed into trees, to atain amore relaxed view of the on TV Screen. There was a magnetic energy that one subconciosly felt would will South Africa to victory. Having traveled the world & comparing to soccer crazed Brasil & Argentina, even a Brasilian friend Tadeu (a Corintians supporter from Sao Paulo) described it as, ¨I´ve never experienced- seen anything like this¨, it was deafening maddness!
As the final whistle blew capping a a 1-1 tie between South Africa & Mexico, the sun had just but all dissapered & the open grass space turned into an even-more joyous mayhem with fireworks, glowing lights, screeching cars, little space to maneouver ,& Kwaito music thumping from every automobile. Crossing a road to catch a Mini Bus out of the Chaos a young boy shouted, ¨Welcome to Fucking Soweto!¨ That struck a strong chord of reality.
As we partitoned a mini-bus to deliver us westerners back to our calm suburb an hostal in Emmarentia, our van driver asked if he could stop for some ¨Juice¨ - Gasoline. The gas station had the open atmosphere of a Kwaito dance fest, & turned into something of a comedic 20 min delay. While wearing earplugs throughout the entire Soweto Experience, I can´t compare the rawéxperience as something other than a complete over-stimulation of energy. While taking over 200 fotos, no photo can truly sum-up the experience of feeling on a humanistic level, the Richest Man in Soweto. People with relatively nothing materialistically, shareing what little they have, wether a hand shake or a South Africa hat. I had a hard time sleeping I for the next 2 days to give an idea of fow intense the energy was.
Somebody old me afterwards that when jumping on the 2nd bus to Soweto a Mexican was so excited to be arriving at the stadium, that he accidently dropped his ticket ubknowingly, a South African picked it up & dissapeared into the mass.
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