For me, soccer has always had the same appeal as shopping for shoes at Green Cross. It makes sense to a lot of people but I’m drawn to other things. The excitement of the World Cup caught up to me round about the same time that the tag line ‘Feel It Is Here’ turned into ‘Phillip is here’. One day life was normal, the next I was the proud owner of a vuvuzela, a Bafana Bafana jersey and I was running up and down the streets of Sandton, crazy excited to be a South African.
The spirit of the World Cup is so infectious that even those who want to ignore it can’t – except maybe Cape Town, but they’ve always been a country on their own and I don’t want to get political. When it was announced that Jo’burg was going to show their support for our team two weeks ago, I figured I didn’t want to miss out.
Thousands of people lined the streets of Sandton as the Bafana bus drove around the block. For me it was a true representation of our country and the illusive concept of the rainbow nation has never been more real to me than it was that day. No barriers between the races or classes, just sheer pride at the fact that we were all lucky enough to be experiencing this part of world history. It was also the fist time I’d held a vuvuzela to my lips, after months of sneering at it.
When I finally came down from the high of the parade, I receive a call that lifted me back up there. I’d been given a ticket to the
World Cup concert, one of the most exciting shows to hit our shores! So the next day I headed out, with my All Star takkies, friends and the excitement levels of teenage girls at a Justin Bieber concert. The Park and Ride system was smooth sailing and Orlando stadium, which is 5 minutes away from where I grew up, was buzzing. Foreign cuties, and young and old South Africans filled the venue and enjoyed a show I can only describe as a once in a lifetime honour to attend. I never thought I’d see the day when Alicia Keys performs Brenda Fassie’s ‘Too Late For Mama’ alongside Blk Jks. The sight of flags waving furiously as K’naan sang his ‘Waving Flag’ will live in my memory forever. I never thought Tumi would share a stage with Shakira and I definitely never even imagined that a stadium full of people of all races would toyi toyi to Blk Jks ‘Join Umzabalazo’. Despite the criticism that there were too many American acts on stage, it was no doubt an
African celebration – one that will live on for many decades to come in the memories of even the most jaded. The opening celebration concert cemented that we, South Africa, had indeed done it. We’d forever go done in history.
That Friday of the opening match, my missions sent me to Innisfree Park, one of the many fan parks that will keep the spirit of this tournament alive. Driving around Sandton was a joke, so we walked, in numbers. The streets were a sea of green and yellow jerseys. When the national anthem was sung, tears were in the eyes of many and national pride was the order of the day. Tshabalala’s goal not only got the whole country on its feet but it’s yet another moment for the history books. The first goal of the first ever World Cup in Africa was scored by an African, a South African.
Now, I basically live in my soccer shirts, I pay attention to matches (instead of just the cute faces) and my vuvuzela blowing skills are pretty impressive. I no longer care if we win or lose because in the bigger scheme of things, Africa has won. This one is ours and if you haven’t already joined in, I strongly recommend you do. If nothing else, go out, meet people, and show them just how amazing our country is. Feel it, it is most definitely here.