The right place at the right time: World Cup SA 2010

(The vuvuzela is a SA soccer horn)

It occurs to me that I am in one of those "right place, right time" situations.  Tomorrow the 2010 FIFA World Cup starts in South Africa.  The opening ceremony and game will be played in Johannesburg with another game playing in Cape Town later that night.

So in the interest of sharing my experience...since that is pretty much the point of this blog...I am going to try to post daily or semi-daily on the happenings surrounding the World Cup.  Maybe some of the small stuff you've been missing from TV or reading the paper if you aren't in South Africa.  Already it's hard to describe the feeling here.  Exuberance, scintillating, infectious...those kind of come close.

In the last week here are some of the haps:

1.  South Africa beat Denmark 1-0 in a friendly match topping off a 10 game winning streak before they play the big boys in the World Cup.

2.  I'm pretty sure the Argentinian football team was partying in the same club I was at on Monday of this week.  (Drop Zone...for those of you in the Pretoria know).  It seemed like they were mostly interested in making out w/hot girls and taking pictures...which I found kind of hilarious.  I spoke to one guy (or maybe he spoke to me) and we played around w/a giant plastic hatchet I found abandoned in the bar.  It was my prop for the night.  He took pictures of us axing each other...nice one.  Today my friend and I were riding in a taxi through Pretoria Central and we saw the team out cruising around.  

3.  Yesterday I pimped out my vuvuzela by giving it a stronger loop handle and adding flowers to it.  Rainbow flowers for a rainbow nation.

4.  This Wednesday, from 12-1pm everyone in the nation was supposed to blow their vuvuzela.  It sounded like a lot of people participated and people have pretty much been blowing vuvus ever since.  To be honest, the vuvu din in my neighborhood has been much louder at other times...so I kind of wasn't impressed.  But I bet it was a nice effect in the quieter parts of SA :)

5.  Yesterday I attended a party at my old campus, the likes of which that campus has probably never seen.  Many of the parties there are pretty one-dimensional and reincarnations of the same party over and over again.  Hey, some people like that...but me...I like a little more variety in the mix.  This party at OP was amazing.  Everyone dancing to the hottest house tracks, blowing vuvuzelas and making beats when the music stopped.  Flag waving, booty shaking.  People just getting down in the spirit of soccer.  So super cool!

6.  There have been lots of silly hats and other fan props I have been seeing around...even old ladies are wearing them as they carry their shopping home.  The best one I've seen is a hat that looks like a soccer ball with the brim having a number of flags.  It occurred to me that now is a time when so many people that are not usually silly or extroverted are allowed to splash out a bit and be silly.  And in return...silliness brings freedom :)  I'm looking forward to seeing this freedom every day for the next month.

7.  Just to keep it real...let's not forget that FIFA is kind of clenching all the power of who gets what from the World Cup in their grubby little hand.  Branded Tshirts are not allowed at games...unless they are FIFA friendly brands.  Media coverage is very strictly controlled.  There are a million other little rules to illustrate this.  In Hatfield Square there is a great example of this madness.  My friend and I were persuaded to buy a "loyalty" card for use in the square.  With this card you get free entrance into the square (it's normally free, but they are going to charge during World Cup) and you get "normal" prices on all SA Breweries beer.  All other beer is subject to crazy ass inflated prices.  Crazy prices.  Tourists beware...the prices are so being jacked up for this Cup.  

8.  On the up side, Amstel quarts are now going to be R10/quart for the whole of the World Cup.  This is my favorite beer so I'm pretty excited about that!  Normally they are about R12 each.  Let the games begin ;)

9.  Right now I'm watching the FIFA opening concert.  So far it's okay.  It was funny to hear Will.i.am say "South Africa."  I liked how Jacob Zuma's speech reminded everyone in SA to behave...lol.  Nice one.  Lucas Radebe (a soccer star here) said that for many years people in Soweto have been looking out over the mine dumps saying "what is out there?"  And now people from all over the world will be looking to Soweto wondering "what are those mine dumps doing there?"  I thought that was a nice image.  John Legend...you sexy bastard.  That is all ;)

Anyways I'm going to finish watching this concert now.  I'm off to Soweto tomorrow for the opening match.  Don't have tickets, just want to bathe in the vibe of Soweto...it's going to be nuts out there!!!! Sorry this has been slightly incoherent...I'm a little partied out right now and I need to rest up for tomorrow :) :)

Hugs
Viva SA!
Woza World Cup!

Love
Lynsee