Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
What did you think about the World Cup in the end? I am torn, The noise was horrible for the first couple of weeks (then either people stopped the Vuvuzelas, or the TV Companies found a way to tune it out), some of the pitches were poor and the stadiums not full. I heard transport was poor as well.
On the other hand the African vibe give it a district personality and style that one could argue was missing from the German World Cup, and a sense that hosting it there made the World Cup feel truly global and uniting. I think that overall it increased the respect and allure of the tournament.
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I didn't mind the noise in the beginning anyway, and in fact i ended up enjoying it. It's completely different when you're actually among it and perhaps because of that, even watching on TV i enjoy it now. It's different and gave the World Cup a truly unique feeling. The fact that so many people around the world were oblivious to vuvuzelas beforehand, just shows how varied football culture is around the world and for most people they were experiencing something completely new to a sport they probably thought they knew all about - even if most TV viewers didn't like it, i think that's great.
A good point i heard also, was how unifying they were too. A simple, unique tool which allowed everyone to feel part of the World Cup. Many, if not most foreign fans embraced them and even those who didn't probably bought one as a souvenir at least.
Oh, and if you were lucky enough to be close enough to groups of the more dedicated South African football fans, like i was at Nigeria vs Greece in Bloemfontein in particular, then this was the sort of thing going on in the stands:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCg4l99qE1M - but like i said previously, the real, mixed, energetic atmospheres generally don't seem to come through over TV. In addition, i was told by somebody (a rugby fan who'd never been to a football match beforehand) that when he attended the Soweto derby between Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates with some workmates, the atmosphere was incredible as everyone was in unison with the vuvuzelas and the accompanying chants and songs. As opposed to the sporadic use, which inevitably and understandably occurs among the more casual and foreign fans.
As far as i'm aware it was only Port Elizabeth's pitch which was poor. The stadiums i visited were great. Soccer City is easily the best stadium i've ever seen, inside and out it's magnificent. A few photos i took:
Some matches weren't full, but this is down to a number factors such as FIFA's ticket selling and transfer process, the pricing, etc. It's no reflection at all on how into the World Cup that South Africans (of all types) were. Many of which had never even watched a football match before, yet were as enthusiastic as anyone.
It's not near as big a deal as some people are making out though, plenty of World Cups had such an amount of empty seats or more, and the attendances this year outdid France 1998, Japan/South Korea 2002 etc etc.
Transport i can't really comment that much on, as i don't drive and i planned my trip so it would consist just of walking, taxis, planes, and coaches. All of which were good. I only used a park and ride for Soccer City and Ellis Park, both were fine, though the latter was a bit hectic with the queuing system on the return trip.
Also, though i've heard the whole "All Africa" stuff on ITV was cheesy and overblown, but it's actually true really. South Africans really did get behind Ghana when South Africa went out (some of the TV pundits were almost in tears when Ghana beat USA) and even personally speaking i know Egyptians, Algerians, Nigerians, Tunisians, South Africans etc anyway and generally they all support other African teams before anyone else and all were 100% behind Ghana when their own teams went out. Apart from a couple of Nigerians of course, as they're rivals.
The enthusiasm for other teams didn't stop at Ghana though, people picked a team and got behind them. Face paint,
makarapas, vuvuzelas, costumes, flags and whatever else included.
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Well done South Africa 
