Nearly everyone asked about the vuvuzuelas after I got back from Cape Town. I think they're wonderful. Here are some samples of how the South Africans use the vuvuzuela... Unfortunately, I didn't think to film them myself and not everyone was elegant as these players but that was the goal...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Some of the Music of World Cup - VERY celebratory
I spent a lot of time in MTN Fan Zone. Before and between games they had live bands, none of whom I'd ever heard of but the music was wonderful. They also played these songs that I've embedded below. You never knew which language version would show up but people in audience always seemed to know the lyrics. Enjoy these fun versions. Shakira (Waka Waka) is known somewhat here in the US by English speakers but she is Columbian born. K'naan (Wavin' Flag) was born in Somali but emigrated first to the US then to Canada. David Bisbal (Spanish singer on Wavin' Flag) Nancy Ejram (Arabic singer on Wavin' Flag) is the best selling Lebanese female vocalist to date.
Waka Waka (Soccer clips from past World Cups and South African scenes. Includes lyrics)
Waka Waka (animals "playing soccer" and other African scenes. So beautiful.)
Wavin' Flag (English/Spanish Version)
Wavin' Flag (English/Arabic)
Waka Waka (Soccer clips from past World Cups and South African scenes. Includes lyrics)
Waka Waka (animals "playing soccer" and other African scenes. So beautiful.)
Wavin' Flag (English/Spanish Version)
Wavin' Flag (English/Arabic)
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
USA is TOP of Group C-AAAAHHHHHH!!!
It wasn't pretty but we made it through. Dashing Donovan made a goal off of an error by the Algerian keeper who was really tough the rest of the game in stoppage time. It was glorious!!!!
I went to Cape Point on the Cape of Good Hope this morning. A bit of a kufuffle on the pick up this morning the touring company gave the tour driver a street address for the dormitory but the dormitory sits a long way off the street and he couldn't find me. I waited outside in the cold for nearly 1/2 hour then I had to go inside which made it even harder to find me. Anyway, we picked the other 9 group members at 5 other guest houses/hotels and we were off.
First we headed down the Atlantic Coast and hit Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak. Then we cut across the peninsula to Simon's Town and I had another look at the penguins. Got more wonderful photos closer up this time. The tour driver new of another spot so we got to see them close up.
Then down to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve and the tip. It is wild and beautiful. Here's a photo of me at the point.
I need to crop the photos of the the other wildlife we saw so you'll have to wait until I'm back with my lovely Mac for those photos. I also saw whales and 2 submarines of the South African Navy.
I went to Cape Point on the Cape of Good Hope this morning. A bit of a kufuffle on the pick up this morning the touring company gave the tour driver a street address for the dormitory but the dormitory sits a long way off the street and he couldn't find me. I waited outside in the cold for nearly 1/2 hour then I had to go inside which made it even harder to find me. Anyway, we picked the other 9 group members at 5 other guest houses/hotels and we were off.
First we headed down the Atlantic Coast and hit Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak. Then we cut across the peninsula to Simon's Town and I had another look at the penguins. Got more wonderful photos closer up this time. The tour driver new of another spot so we got to see them close up.
Then down to the Cape of Good Hope Nature Preserve and the tip. It is wild and beautiful. Here's a photo of me at the point.
I need to crop the photos of the the other wildlife we saw so you'll have to wait until I'm back with my lovely Mac for those photos. I also saw whales and 2 submarines of the South African Navy.
Monday, June 21, 2010
I actually didn't watch all of a game
Brazil made me so mad with their games and idiocy that I left about 10 minutes before the end. Yes, they are very good but for heaven's sake they acted like Cote-d'Ivoire should bow down and hand them the victory. Heaven forbid they should fight for a point of their own. Ahhh. All I can say is anyone other than Brazil had better win.
The Portugal vs. DPR Korea (North Korea) game today had some of the most beautiful goals I've seen in a long time. Cristiano's long dry-spell for goals was finally quenched. I love to watch his face when they show it. He's almost always smiling, even when he misses - he must truly enjoy playing and that makes it all that much more enjoyable for me. Portugal set a record of 7 goals in one game. Next game for Portugal is the one that I had a ticket for that I had to sell - Portugal vs Brazil. I probably won't even get to see it as I'll be flying across Africa back to Dubai. Should be good, I just hope Brazil can behave themselves.
The Chile vs. Swiss game was agonizing. The referee was the same one who made a another game really annoying to watch. He's from Saudi Arabia and he is STRICT to the point of interfering with game play. In the end Chile one 1-0.
Tomorrow shopping and 3 more games.
The Portugal vs. DPR Korea (North Korea) game today had some of the most beautiful goals I've seen in a long time. Cristiano's long dry-spell for goals was finally quenched. I love to watch his face when they show it. He's almost always smiling, even when he misses - he must truly enjoy playing and that makes it all that much more enjoyable for me. Portugal set a record of 7 goals in one game. Next game for Portugal is the one that I had a ticket for that I had to sell - Portugal vs Brazil. I probably won't even get to see it as I'll be flying across Africa back to Dubai. Should be good, I just hope Brazil can behave themselves.
The Chile vs. Swiss game was agonizing. The referee was the same one who made a another game really annoying to watch. He's from Saudi Arabia and he is STRICT to the point of interfering with game play. In the end Chile one 1-0.
Tomorrow shopping and 3 more games.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Yet Another Upset
Unbelievable, but true another might giant - Italy has fallen. OK, they didn't actually fall but they had a draw with New Zealand at 1:1. I know there was word that Lippi was keeping older players because he was afraid to change but I never expected this. The world has turned upside-down. Argentina and Paraguay look good to finish the race at this point but so many of the groups are undecided at this point that the round of 16 is going to be interesting to say the least.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
A Really Big Day with Interesting Results
I'll leave the USA discussion for last but the three games yesterday were fascinating. First there was Germany vs. Serbia. Germany had started the tournament with a 4-0 win over Australia but they lost to Serbia. Quite a shocker. They still lead group D because of goals scored but they only have 3 points along with two other teams in the group, Ghana and Serbia. Not the result any one expected.
The evening game yesterday was England vs. Algeria which I had the privilege of attending. If I were estimating I'd say between 90 and 95% of the attendees were England supporters. The stands were full (60,000+), with the exception of the expensive seats directly across from me which had only a sprinkling of people. Here's a shot of Fabio
Capello (England's coach) talking with one of the players (sorry couldn't see his number) at 10:05, this is very near the end of the match and England is stuck at nil:nil.
I also got a pretty good shot of Wayne Rooney during the warm up. However, I have to say he was a bit disappointing. I expected to see power and finesse and he seemed to just stand about. Whenever, he would lose a pass he was sent or miss a pass he was sending he appeared to just stand there - no follow through.
Whereas, I thought Algeria was pretty sleepy during their first match they scrambled, had impeccable passes and steals. They had more ball possession which is almost unimaginable if I hadn't witnessed it myself I wouldn't have believed it.
During half time two young men that I've seen around UCT for the last week approached me and asked if I was staying at UCT. I smiled and agreed. I had thought they were from India but it turns out they were Brits. For the first time we stood and conversed even though we'd been on campus together for over a week. They look like twins and frequently dress alike. I'm sad we didn't connect before this as we had a lovely chat standing there in the stadium and they are leaving for Jo'burg today. They were knowledgeable about Oregon - specifically Willamette valley wines and Portland, that was a surprise.
Here are the stats as reported by Fifa.com
Before the game on the stroll through the V & A Waterfront the English fans were singing and singing and singing. They had crazy hats:
When we were queued up at the gate to get into the stadium they clapped and sang. BBC television was on the roof of the old hospital building next to the queue and the English fans danced and sang for the entire hour we were in queue. However, they were equally effusive in their repudiation of the team/coach when the game was over and England had not triumphed as they fully expected. They whistled and jeered as the team and coach left the field. They talked and talked and talked through the entire walk back to the V&A Waterfront about what they would have done differently. One fellow gently elbowed me and asked if I though he could have done a better job than Capello. Of course, with his very thick accent I didn't understand him at first and thought he was asking if he could get a job in Spanish - I was confused by the question but he held out his arms, asking me to look and then he says "Me... or Capello... who could do better?" That I understood, and knowing the the better part of valor would be to agree, so I did and assured him I thought he was the better man for the job. He walked away shaking his head and I don't know what he was thinking but he was in pain. However, based on the volume of English supporters headed to the party spots I thought they would be on the way to anesthetizing the pain in short order. This morning when I went to breakfast there were no other people at breakfast and the dormitory was exceedingly quiet and there are more than 200 Brits at the present so that says a lot. The whole evening made me smile.
I shared a taxi partway back to UCT. Four South African men took the back seat and I the front. They were a riot. They'd been to three games so far and not one of the games had yielded a single goal. They had reached the opinion that they were the unlucky stars in the South African Fifa World Cup. The chattered away in Afrikaans from time to time - which sounds like German to me. They paid almost half the fare when they were dropped off at the Strand so I was left with a much smaller taxi fare which was lovely. One of the Afrikaners is a fan of American Football and is very familiar with the University of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers - that was hilarious. His friends told him he had way too much leisure time.
I went to the V & A waterfront at 2:30 in the afternoon as this was the last available bus to the area for the day. I managed to watch the end of the Germany vs. Serbia game through an opening in the Fan Zone tent.
I had missed most of the game in transit from the University of Cape Town (UCT). I was stunned to see that Germany was losing the game.
The view into the fan zone tent
The walk from V & A Waterfront is beautiful. Here are a few shots from the walk
The fan zone tent was sold out so I was worried I wouldn't find a place to watch the USA game. I hovered like a carrion at the entrance and tried to figure out how things were working. I had tried asking but the noise level made it impossible to hear what they said so I just hung around and finally got in. I got a seat, bought a beer and settled in to "enjoy" the game. Of course, I love fútbol but watching the team I love and knowing the result is so critical is a form of torture.
In the Fan Zone tent I witnessed some pretty ugly behavior by one Brit towards four American young men. I couldn't see them so they very easily could have said something to provoke him but he went into a rage and started calling down curses on them. For the rest of the match he exuberantly celebrated every Serbian success. How I would have liked to have seen him at the end of the England match, a little bit of revenge felt good even if I couldn't see it. Of course, I took my own form of revenge by exuberantly celebrating Algeria's success.
I was so caught up in the game (and suffering - as we were down 2 at half time) I didn't get a single picture. I'm so disgusted with myself. When play began after half time the USA came out strong and equalized the game at 2-2. There was a third goal which was ruled out - I still don't know why as there was no commentary that I could hear in the tent. I've been surfing the news trying to find out what happened but so far no luck. I'll find it never fear.
Anyway, enough for today - I've gone on and on.
The evening game yesterday was England vs. Algeria which I had the privilege of attending. If I were estimating I'd say between 90 and 95% of the attendees were England supporters. The stands were full (60,000+), with the exception of the expensive seats directly across from me which had only a sprinkling of people. Here's a shot of Fabio
Capello (England's coach) talking with one of the players (sorry couldn't see his number) at 10:05, this is very near the end of the match and England is stuck at nil:nil.I also got a pretty good shot of Wayne Rooney during the warm up. However, I have to say he was a bit disappointing. I expected to see power and finesse and he seemed to just stand about. Whenever, he would lose a pass he was sent or miss a pass he was sending he appeared to just stand there - no follow through.
Whereas, I thought Algeria was pretty sleepy during their first match they scrambled, had impeccable passes and steals. They had more ball possession which is almost unimaginable if I hadn't witnessed it myself I wouldn't have believed it.
During half time two young men that I've seen around UCT for the last week approached me and asked if I was staying at UCT. I smiled and agreed. I had thought they were from India but it turns out they were Brits. For the first time we stood and conversed even though we'd been on campus together for over a week. They look like twins and frequently dress alike. I'm sad we didn't connect before this as we had a lovely chat standing there in the stadium and they are leaving for Jo'burg today. They were knowledgeable about Oregon - specifically Willamette valley wines and Portland, that was a surprise.
Here are the stats as reported by Fifa.com
| England (ENG) | Statistics | Algeria (ALG) |
| 15 | Shots | 11 |
| 6 | Shots on goal | 1 |
| 0 | Goals Scored | 0 |
| 13 | Fouls Committed | 13 |
| 12 | Fouls Suffered | 12 |
| 10 | Corner kicks | 3 |
| 15 | Free kicks Shots (scored) | 10 |
| 0 / 0 | Penalty Kicks (Goals/Shots) | 0 / 0 |
| 1 | Offsides | 3 |
| 0 | Own goals | 0 |
| 1 | Yellow cards | 1 |
| 0 | Second yellow card and red card | 0 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 35 | Actual playing time | 40 |
| 48% | Possession (%) | 52% |
Before the game on the stroll through the V & A Waterfront the English fans were singing and singing and singing. They had crazy hats:
When we were queued up at the gate to get into the stadium they clapped and sang. BBC television was on the roof of the old hospital building next to the queue and the English fans danced and sang for the entire hour we were in queue. However, they were equally effusive in their repudiation of the team/coach when the game was over and England had not triumphed as they fully expected. They whistled and jeered as the team and coach left the field. They talked and talked and talked through the entire walk back to the V&A Waterfront about what they would have done differently. One fellow gently elbowed me and asked if I though he could have done a better job than Capello. Of course, with his very thick accent I didn't understand him at first and thought he was asking if he could get a job in Spanish - I was confused by the question but he held out his arms, asking me to look and then he says "Me... or Capello... who could do better?" That I understood, and knowing the the better part of valor would be to agree, so I did and assured him I thought he was the better man for the job. He walked away shaking his head and I don't know what he was thinking but he was in pain. However, based on the volume of English supporters headed to the party spots I thought they would be on the way to anesthetizing the pain in short order. This morning when I went to breakfast there were no other people at breakfast and the dormitory was exceedingly quiet and there are more than 200 Brits at the present so that says a lot. The whole evening made me smile.
I shared a taxi partway back to UCT. Four South African men took the back seat and I the front. They were a riot. They'd been to three games so far and not one of the games had yielded a single goal. They had reached the opinion that they were the unlucky stars in the South African Fifa World Cup. The chattered away in Afrikaans from time to time - which sounds like German to me. They paid almost half the fare when they were dropped off at the Strand so I was left with a much smaller taxi fare which was lovely. One of the Afrikaners is a fan of American Football and is very familiar with the University of Oregon Ducks and Oregon State Beavers - that was hilarious. His friends told him he had way too much leisure time.
I went to the V & A waterfront at 2:30 in the afternoon as this was the last available bus to the area for the day. I managed to watch the end of the Germany vs. Serbia game through an opening in the Fan Zone tent.
I had missed most of the game in transit from the University of Cape Town (UCT). I was stunned to see that Germany was losing the game.The view into the fan zone tent
The walk from V & A Waterfront is beautiful. Here are a few shots from the walk
The fan zone tent was sold out so I was worried I wouldn't find a place to watch the USA game. I hovered like a carrion at the entrance and tried to figure out how things were working. I had tried asking but the noise level made it impossible to hear what they said so I just hung around and finally got in. I got a seat, bought a beer and settled in to "enjoy" the game. Of course, I love fútbol but watching the team I love and knowing the result is so critical is a form of torture.
In the Fan Zone tent I witnessed some pretty ugly behavior by one Brit towards four American young men. I couldn't see them so they very easily could have said something to provoke him but he went into a rage and started calling down curses on them. For the rest of the match he exuberantly celebrated every Serbian success. How I would have liked to have seen him at the end of the England match, a little bit of revenge felt good even if I couldn't see it. Of course, I took my own form of revenge by exuberantly celebrating Algeria's success.
I was so caught up in the game (and suffering - as we were down 2 at half time) I didn't get a single picture. I'm so disgusted with myself. When play began after half time the USA came out strong and equalized the game at 2-2. There was a third goal which was ruled out - I still don't know why as there was no commentary that I could hear in the tent. I've been surfing the news trying to find out what happened but so far no luck. I'll find it never fear.
Anyway, enough for today - I've gone on and on.
Friday, June 18, 2010
My First Match Day
Today I'm attending my first match in person. I don't have a seat down front for this game - that would have been so cool. I'm up on the 6th level. But having been to the stadium I know that all the seats have a great view so I'll get to see so much that I'm so excited. Traffic in town on match days is so bad that the last shuttle from campus to the V&A Waterfront clock tower is at 2:15 and the game isn't until 8 so I think that tells the whole story. The Fan Walk is 2 km long and takes us to the stadium. It's going to be interesting to hear the vuvuzuelas in person, I may have to take my earplugs. I sat next to a gentleman from England at the South Africa/Uruguay game. This is his 5th world cup. He's following England's team from site to site so he started his trip up in Jo'burg.
So England vs Algeria. It would be good for the USA if Algeria won but they didn't look sterling in their first game. However, the same can be said of Greece and they won last night so each game is a new chapter.
Mexico played really well last night and the French looked anemic. I wanted the French to win as that would have been good for South Africa but I was cheered to have a CONCACAF team look so excellent. I don't know how much of the USA game I'll get to see today because I have to leave for my game so early. I'll be on pins and needles. GO USA!!!
Lisa - it was great to hear from you. I don't have your email address but thanks for checking in. I'll have game and fan photos up tomorrow.
So England vs Algeria. It would be good for the USA if Algeria won but they didn't look sterling in their first game. However, the same can be said of Greece and they won last night so each game is a new chapter.
Mexico played really well last night and the French looked anemic. I wanted the French to win as that would have been good for South Africa but I was cheered to have a CONCACAF team look so excellent. I don't know how much of the USA game I'll get to see today because I have to leave for my game so early. I'll be on pins and needles. GO USA!!!
Lisa - it was great to hear from you. I don't have your email address but thanks for checking in. I'll have game and fan photos up tomorrow.
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