Do you hear that gagging sound? Its the chorus of a thousand Jeremiahs choking on their words. In a previous post I wrote that the armchair critics were predicting the failure of the 2010 World Cup with almost gleeful anticipation. South Africa is heading for disaster they said, hubris for reaching beyond its station. The tourists will be robbed, even killed (in the UK they were selling kevlar stab vests cutomized with your team colors) ; the traffic will be a nightmare; those union bastards will strike at just the right time to disrupt the games; the lights will be turned off in the middle of a game. No foreigner who experiences in that month what South Africans have to endure on a daily basis, will ever come back. And whats more they’ll tell their friends.
But a strange thing happened on the road to perdition. The lights stayed on. the infrastructure held fast. South Africa welcomed the world with open arms, a joyous song and the blare of vuvuzelas ( which may be the country’s most obnoxious gift to the world) A few tourists were robbed, but overall crime statistics went down. They even arrested Paris Hilton.
The hosts had to suffer the early exit of Bafana Bafana and then the heartbreak of the defeat of Ghana, the lone African team remaining, and yet they stayed on to cheer the rest. Their hospitality and their spirit entranced the world and quieted even the most vociferous critics. The soccer itself, well it was underwhelming, but off the pitch, the unique atmosphere and the sense of history and occasion will be hard to match anywhere else in the world. It was as much a coming out party for South Africa, as the 2008 Olympics for China, but with less ominous overtones.
Of course problems remain. How long will the euphoria last? Can South Africa leverage the goodwill into meaningful reform? Only time will tell. But it has just pulled off the biggest party in the world. It has passed an important test – with honors. How can it not be confident going forward? Bring on the Jeremiahs. Tell them to wear bibs.
Filed under: Current Affairs, Popular culture, World Events Tagged: | Soccer, South Africa, vuvuzela, World Cup
Dear Malcom,
I would agree with you, and would add that what made this World Cup one of the most inspiring ones in the history of international sport, was watching an entire Rainbow Nation come together with a pride and excitement much remniscent of the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup. It is times like these that prove sports are more than “just a game.”
Regards,
Eric Nummedal