29 June - Cape Town - Spain vs Portugal

Spain To Reign ?




Back to Cape Town  to discover that the whole of South Africa has been unable to pull itself away from this World Cup for the past 2 and a half weeks. It has entranced the country more than I could ever have imagined. This has been like December holidays on steroids and a serious national hangover is lying just around the corner. The country breathed a collective sigh of relief this morning at the realisation that there are no games today or tomorrow. At last a chance to sleep !

We've been lucky enough to see Spain's last 3 games live and, like Argentina, they get better each time. Last night in Cape Town was our 10th game in 10 days and what better match-up to mark the occasion than a Round of 16 match between near-neighbours Spain and Portugal. The Portuguese gave them a good run for their money in the first half but Spain's class started to tell in the second half. Great game all round, probably the best we've been to.

Spain have so many players who can create scoring chances even though David Villa has scored 4 of their 5 goals so far. It's surely just a matter of time before the others start to contribute more regularly. Torres and his replacement, Florente, both came mightily close last night while Iniesta always looks likely.

Paraguay will not trouble Spain in the Quarter Final. 3-0 to the Spanish. This will be the first semi-final I've ever seen them in. After all the years of promise it looks like Spain may finally be about to break their World Cup hoodoo.

28 June - Durban - Netherlands vs Slovakia

10 Out of 10 in Durban



At about 3.15pm on Monday we walked into Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, our 10th World Cup stadium out of 10. Not sure if it was the lack of sleep, the Budweiser or the actual achievement.....but I felt pretty emotional. Only as we sat down did it occur to me that this had been a bit of an epic trip. 6 500 km's of driving in total and all 10 magnificent South African 2010 venues.

Durban's stadium is indeed a magnificent piece of architecture and genuine stand-out but, sorry Durban, here's the verdict; Cape Town is aesthetically the most beautiful stadium of the lot. Perfectly contained and stretching high into the rafters it ensures that the action commands the attention of every one of the 68 000 people watching. Durban's design is truly unique but it just doesn't seem as big as Cape Town from the inside. Also, the open end is a little bit distracting.

The location of Moses Mabhida right by the sea is magnificent. Watching the thousands of Dutch supporters make their walk to the ground along the beachfront was a real highlight.

Just like the Stormers in Cape Town, the sooner the Sharks rugby team move to the new stadium, the better. It's surely just a matter of time.

27 June - Soccer City Joburg - Argentina vs Mexico

Another Blind Linesman !




They say that great things come to people who wait. Well I am now officially tired of waiting Mr Joseph S Blatter. You had a good laugh at Ireland's expense back in November as you insisted that football didn't need technology but rather needed the drama and excitement of human error and contested decisions. Tell that to the poor linesman who ran the line in Bloemfontein today and made the biggest bloop since....well, since the Thierry Henry handball.

How could he not give that as a goal ? Watching it in full frontal on tv it was obvious that the ball had crossed the line. You could see clearly from the trajectory of the ball that it had crossed the line. How on earth could you miss it Mr Linesman, given that you were side on? If there was any benefit of the doubt it should have gone the attacker's way.










So here we go again. Another major World Cup match significantly influenced by an appalling refereeing error. I don't care that England were shite today, and indeed throughout this entire tournament. For 5 minutes today they were world class and had Germany on the ropes. If that 2nd goal had been allowed there is no way that Germany would have run away with it. They might have won, but it would have been them, and not England,  who were forced to go forward and therefore susceptible to the counter attack.

So. while Sepp Blatter paternalistically protects those dinner table and barroom debates, your average football fan fumes ! How difficult is it, Mr Blatter, to install Hawkeye, or whatever device it is that they use at Wimbledon ? One beep, that's all, just one beep and we would have had a fair outcome today. As it is, we thank God that Germany won 4-1 so that we don't have to feel that this World Cup has been prejudiced. But it has been prejudiced, last November in Paris, and again today in Bloemfontein.

Rant over.

What about the game we went to last night ? Argentina really do keep getting better and they really could go all the way...and Messi hasn't even scored yet. As they say, successful people get their timing right.

And yes I do know that their first goal was a mile offside. More reason to start using technology.

Argentina vs Germany is the right match-up for the quarter final, and we're going to see it on Saturday. They have been 2 of the best 3 teams of the tournament so far (the other one being Spain).

Soccer City is an awesome venue, so vast it knocks you sideways. Pitch looking a bit worn though. Looks like Wimbledon Centre Court in week 2. Hope they can sort that out before the final.

Great day with old friends Jen and Claude and their kids yesterday. Took the train to Soccer City. Much better than going by car. Station is right there at the stadium, and the view on the approach is magnificent.

26 June - Rustenburg - Ghana vs USA - Round of 16

The Battle of The Stars




The Black Stars put one over the Stars and Stripes at Royal Bafokeng tonight. In the process Ghana became only the third African country ever to reach a World Cup Quarter Final. No African team has ever reached the semi final. Friday night at Soccer City is going to be huge. Can Ghana overcome Uruguay and make history ? They can rest assured that 90% of the stadium will be supporting them. It's BaGhana BaGhana from here on in.

The USA did themselves proud once again. The States are a consistent performer at top international level. It was really encouraging to see so many visiting American supporters too. The game has a bright future in USA and I believe they will win the World Cup within the next 50 years.

Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg left us completely underwhelmed. Great game in spite of an atmosphere-less venue. The massive running track around the pitch removes you from the action. Security clearance took for ever and the Park and Ride system was ridiculously slow. Got home at 1am but I can assure you there are many Joburgers getting home at only 3 or 4am after traffic problems out of the stadium.

Consolation for us is that we are staying at a really nice self-catering cottage called Bellevue Kothuis in Rustenburg. Great spot for a family weekend breakaway.

25 June - Pretoria - Spain vs Chile

What a great evening ! This started out as a game I thought I wouldn't see and ended up with the 3 of us seated in the front row on the halfway line !



Spain vs Chile was always going to be a big clash but with the Spanish now having to win to qualify it had become a  match of gargantuan importance for both teams. Lose, and you faced the very real prospect of going. For Spain, as favourites and European Champions, that would have been an unmitigated disaster. For Chile, having won their first 2 games of the tournament, it would have been too much to bear.

A mouth-watering prospect, and I didn't have a ticket ! I had got confused when buying up front and had only got 2. I was prepared to wait outside while my kids watched.... but luck soon intervened in the shape of a kind gentleman who let me have his ticket at face value. Yess.....I was going inside !

Having seen my kids safely to their seats high up in the rafters I set out to find my own seat. As we all know, it's not the destination that matters, it's the journey....and how this journey worked out for me !

Loftus Versfeld is one of the refurbished old stadiums being used in this World Cup and, unlike the new stadiums, it does not process crowds quickly. I took one look at the crowd squeezing into the (only) tunnel leading to my block and realised it was at least a 15-minute wait. Not only that but the crush looked uncomfortable and, possibly, dangerous.

Now, Loftus has one rather odd feature. There is a wide access path that runs the length of the pitch in front of the main stand. The stewards were directing supporters along this path last night to find their seats. So, when I couldn't get to my seat I thought, let me go hang out on that access path until the crush clears and I can take my seat.


That's exactly what I did and, to my amazement, I was allowed to just kind of hang around the halfway line area, right in front of the main stand and virtually at pitch edge. After a few minutes the officials took the covers off the front row of seats to alleviate some overcrowding behind. (I've never understood why they cover the first 1 or 2 rows. You see it at Champions League matches too.)

When someone offers you a front row seat on the halfway line at a World Cup match you take it....so I sat down. Long story short is that I then called Dylan and Shea and told them to come join me. There were seats available and the view was the opposite extreme of what they had at the very top of the main stand. (You can see the difference between their 2 views in the slideshow of pics above.)

All a bit resourceful I know but, my gosh, sometimes resourcefulness has its pay offs. We were so close to the action and the likes of Iniesta, Villa and Torres. Best of all though was the crowd. We were in amongst a huge contingent of Chile supporters whose exuberance was hardly tempered by the fact that their team was chasing the game for most of the 90 minutes. They simply couldn't sit still.

It was hilarious to watch the headmaster-like, older Afrikaans man who was clearly in charge of security. He must have been a veteran of running the security show at countless big rugby matches here at Loftus, the home of the Blue Bulls. "I know this is soccer" he told the restless Chile supporters, "but just stop it !"


Of course the Chileans got even more exuberant when word filtered through that Switzerland were only drawing against Honduras. At full time, even though Spain had won 2-1 and topped the group, it was Chile who were going through with them.

Perfect result. Perfect night.

Began the day with an interview on Kfm with Ryan O' Connor. have a listen:
http://soundcloud.com/2010roadtrip/02-20100625-074255-walls-trip-25-june-2010

24 June - Polokwane - Paraguay vs New Zealand

A LITTLE PIECE OF SOCCER HEAVEN IN LIMPOPO



Watch today's video at the foot of this post.


If you're a World Cup fan, chances are you've got an interest in other countries and a taste for travel and adventure. In which case the concourse on the 3rd tier of the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane might be as it is in heaven for the soccer fan visiting South Africa for the World Cup. On one side you've got exotic African bushveld bathed in a slowly setting sun. On the other side you've got a World Cup finals match being played in one of the most interesting stadiums you're ever likely to visit.

Open on 3 sides and with stands rising high into the Limpopo sky this stadium was built with World Cup high drama in mind. Unfortunately for us today was not the day the builder had in mind. Our fourth 0-0 draw out of 8 games. There have been only four 0-0 draws in this World Cup and, yes, we've seen them all.

The result was forgivable purely because the setting was so spectacular and the people of Polokwane are so damn nice. The result was also forgivable because Paraguay needed only a draw to progress to the knock-out round while NZ needed only a draw to not lose. The All Whites could have qualified with a win but their lack of ambition was shocking. They never really tried. I don't know what they were hoping for as they stood around at the final whistle waiting anxiously for the result of the Italy-Slovakia game. The only result that could have saved them from elimination would have been another goalless draw. Even then FIFA would have had to draw lots to see who went through. I wonder if this was how the football world viewed Jack Charlton's Ireland in the 1990's? Plucky but completely unwatchable.

Great day up at Polokwane.The road from Joburg is brilliant, double lane the whole way. In fact, after driving over 3000 km's in the past 5 days I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that South Africa's road network is better than anything I've ever seen in Australia, the US, Ireland or the UK.

The vibe at the game was great as Polokwane celebrated its last World Cup game. The sense of unity among South Africans that we've seen over the past couple of weeks shows no sign of abating. My sense is that it was the hosting of the tournament, more than the rallying behind Bafana, that has been the real driving force behind the wonderful sense of goodwill you can feel all around. Long may it continue !

Watch the video...

23 June - Soccer City Joburg - Germany vs Ghana

Our first time at Soccer City last night. OMG !!


This place is so worthy of hosting a World Cup Final. I doubt there is any stadium on earth that comes close.Someone sauid to me recently that Soccer City doesn't come across so well on tv. I agree but I can promise you it's a very different story when you're there.

It is just so incredibly vast. The colour added by the Ghanaians and Germans last night really added to the atmosphere. (Yes, I did say Germans and colour in the same sentence !)

We're a little bummed that we won't be seeing England on Saturday, thanks to USA's last-minute winner against Slovenia. But USA vs Ghana is guaranteed to be a great game. Both sides will see this as a golden opportunity to make the Quarter Finals. Both teams have great sets of supporters too. The Ghana fans were raucous last night with their drums and smoking calabashes (see pics while I have never seen so many people from the USA as I have over the past 2 weeks. The soccer world, it is a changing.

22 June - Bloemfontein - South Africa vs France

GOING OUT WITH PRIDE

That was a hectic day. Full of emotion. Seeing Bafana go out hurts hugely. But at least the French have finally been eliminated...8 months late. I'll let the pictures do the talking for now. Suffice to say that this was head and shoulders the best match we've been to so far.





I was interviewed by Aden Thomas on CapeTalk this morning. Have a listen.


http://soundcloud.com/2010roadtrip/00-20100622-084826-567-cape-talk-1

21 June - Joburg Ellis Park - Spain vs Honduras

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FANS COME FROM ?

ENJOY TODAY'S SLIDESHOW



Spent Sunday night at a friendly and characterful B&B called Kiara's Guesthouse, run by the very friendly Lulu. Woke up Monday mornning to be informed by Lulu that she had seen us on TV the night before. This was a short insert that SuperSport did on our roadtrip (will post the clip when we get hold of a copy). Lulu's granddaughter, Kiara, had called her and said "look Ouma, the uncle in room 5 is on tv." We felt like celebrities for a couple of hours as a few people in Nelspruit approached us and asked if we were the guys they saw on tv.

Arrived in Joburg about 3 having mistakenly detoured via Pretoria (!). The World Cup buzz is palpable in Joburg. What really struck us is the number of foreign fans walking the streets and shopping centres. I mean genuine foreign fans, not 2nd generation South African immigrants sporting the colours of their grandparents' countries. The streets of Joburg are full of the real thing.... visiting fans speaking Portuguese, Italian, Spanish and American. It's as if most fans waited for the 2nd and 3rd group games to come out. We're starting to see large groups of foreign fans in the stadiums now. New Zealand had a surprisingly large contingent in Nelspruit on Sunday while Ellis Park last night resembled Little Madrid.

Being in Gauteng really brings home the sheer scale of the World Cup.Hosting just one international match with a 60 000 attendance and a few hundred million watching on TV is a major undertaking but doing it every day (sometimes twice a day) requires enormous resources and coordination by the Gauteng authorities. Make no mistake, if you can successfully host a World Cup, then, as a country, you are a force to be reckoned with.

As for last night's game, Spain finally woke up and , having scored 2 brilliant goals, promptly went back to sleep. The Rojos still have their work cut out to make the last 16. Friday night's game against Chile is going to be massive. Spain must win to advance and, if they do, Chile faces the very real prospect of being eliminated despite winning their first two matches. And we thought Bafana were hard done by being eliminated with 4 points.

NOTE: I am desperately looking for 1 extra ticket to the Spain vs Chile match in Pretoria this Friday night.I am willing to part-trade 2 Quarter Final tickets for Soccer City on 2nd July.


Of the 10 stadiums being used for the World Cup 5 are brand new and 5 have been reffurbished.Leaving Ellis Park last night I was reminded of Barack Obama's quote about Sarah Palin: " A pig with lipstick is still a pig." Ellis Park is no pig...but it is an old stadium, despite the cpsmetic uplift. Access is difficult, the concourse is cramped and the seats are on top of each other. It's like stepping back in time after our wonderful experiences at the brand new stadiums. It makes me realise just how much South Africa has already achieved.

The Road To Bloem

2 HOURS BEFORE KICK-OFF

It's not what it seems. Today is not really about Bafana advancing. It's about the entire country celebrating just how proud we are of the way we have hosted this World Cup.

The road from Joburg to Bloem was amazing today. Hooting, vuvuzelas and flags from every car you passed. What a drive and what memory.

20 June - Nelspruit - Italy vs New Zealand

AT LAST...WE'VE STRUCK GOALS

ENJOY THE SLIDESHOW..........AND TAKE PART IN OUR WORLD CUP POLL AT THE FOOT OF THIS POST.

There was a real sense of achievement about being at Mbombela Stadium today. Not because this is the most outlying of all 10 World Cup Stadiums (along with Polokwane);  not because it had taken us such a very, very long time to get here from Cape Town; but rather because at long last we struck goal(s) !

Clearly we did need to move up-country to see the net bulge. Today we saw it happen twice in a thoroughly entertaining 1-1 shock draw between Italy and New Zealand. We've broken our duck and, because successful people recover quickly, there's no stopping us now, beginning with Spain vs Honduras tomorrow night at Ellis Park. A hatful of goals on the cards there we reckon.

We arrived in Nelspruit at 11.30 this morning, 27 hours after leaving Cape Town, 21 of which were spent in the car. We got up at 12 midnight in Colesberg this morning/ last night and it was always going to be a test of endurance to get to Nelspruit by midday. 1750 kilometres since 9am on Saturday. And all so we could stay in Cape Town on Friday night to see the England vs Algeria match.

Thankfully all went well and we descended into the significantly warmer lowveld with a sense of excitement and relief. Last night in Colesberg was so cold it was obscene. Joburg and surrounds was hardly any better at sunrise this morning with a thick layer of fog blanketing everything.

Nelspruit has always been one of my favourite towns in South Africa. Colourful, sleepy and warm, this is one of those places you always look forward to arriving in. Except that, today, colourful, sleepy and warm Nelspruit was hosting a World Cup Finals match.

Nelspruit did itself proud today. Transport to and from the stadium was ample and great. The fan fest was very well organised if a little under-attended for the lunchtime game. The people we met were fantastic. Thanks to Wayne and Monica, two locals (but total strangers to us) who saw us asking for directions at the park-and-ride centre and quickly whisked us off to our guest house in their own car.



But head and shoulders above everything else was the stadium.  Granted, the landscaping outside Mbombela Stadium is not finished and the stadium looks completely surreal from the outside. It really is like a space ship which landed in the middle of the veld and then tried to be all inconspicuous about it. But once inside I guarantee that you will be captivated by this incredibly compact and atmospheric arena. It's a really unique design and takes its visual cues from the nearby Kruger Park. The stadium's external support pillars are shaped like giraffes facing off into the bush. Meanwhile the colour scheme of the seating is pure zebra. It's worth getting to Mbombela stadium a bit early just to see the seating.

On the downside the security coming into the stadium is a bit lax. It's great from the point of view of speed of access but not exactly a deterrent to someone intent on causing trouble.

Still, that's what makes Nelspruit such a pleasure to visit. They don't take life too seriously but they know how to get the job done. The whole operation at Mbombela Stadium is relaxed and makes Cape Town Stadium look very serious.

So we've struck goals and our goalless draw duck is broken. However, as Dylan pointed out, we have yet to see a team win a game ......or lose one for that matter. 4 games.....4 draws. What odds a 5th between Spain and Honduras tomorrow night ? Non-existent, I would suggest.

18 June - Cape Town - England vs Algeria

'GOALLESS AND GRUMPY'



ENJOY THE SLIDESHOW. WILL HOPEFULLY POST THE VIDEO TOMORROW.

Something is very wrong with England. This is a team that qualified for the World Cup in style, winning their first nine games in a manner that rightly established them as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in July. How long ago those days seem now.

Apart from the first 20 minutes against the USA, England have been shocking. Completely lacking in penetration, this England team brings to mind the image of trying to knock in a nail with a hamster. Rooney looks like he’d rather be somewhere else. He just doesn’t look fully committed in the 50/50 challenges. It’s almost as if he is afraid of aggravating his recent injury. Gerrard looks as ineffectual as he has done all season for Liverpool and, despite having two years to prepare for this tournament, Capello still can’t decide on his strikeforce combination. It all contributed to a dismal England performance last night and a pretty dismal game all round.

Maybe we’re just taking it out on England because they were supposed to break our duck of going to see goalless draws. This must be some kind of record. Of the 23 games played in Fifa 2010 South Africa so far, 3 have been goalless. Guess which 3 games we’ve been to? That’s 4 and a half hours of World Cup football without seeing a single goal. Thank God we’ve got another 13 games left to see. There’s got to be at least 1 goal in there.

All a bit of a shame, really, because the atmosphere at Cape Town Stadium last night was unbelievable. 

20 000 visiting English supporters created a sea of white and red in this stunning arena. A couple of thousand highly energetic Algerian supporters played their part too.

It was a great day all round yesterday in Cape Town. This is exactly how I imagined it would be during the World Cup; thousands of fans filling the streets and the senses being assailed by wave after wave of sound and colour.

This was my 7 year-old (Megan)’s first and last World Cup 2010 game, and it was quite a treat for me to have all 3 of my kids by my side last night. Megan put her head in my lap out of sheer boredom after about 20 minutes of the game. I suspect most people in the stadium would have done the same if they could have been sure of not getting slapped in the face by the person sitting next to them. Megan eventually perked up when I informed her that there were only 5 minutes left. We could all identify with that.

However, if World Cup history is anything to go by, this may yet turn out to be a great tournament for England. When England reached the quarter-final in 1986 and the semi-final in 1990 they did so after an atrocious first 2 games. In 86 England had just 1 point after 2 games, while in 90 they had 2, the same position they find themselves in this morning. The omens get even better for England when you consider that in both 86 and 90 they drew their second group game 0-0 (vs Morocco in 1986 and vs Netherlands in 1990). One of the great truths of the World Cup is that the winners very often start slowly. Italy are experts at this. The hare and tortoise theory is confirmed if you look at how, in the past, teams like Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain have started like a house on fire only to fall spectacularly in the early knockout stages. Argentina could be the hare in 2010.

That’s the bright side. The dark side is that England look appalling and I’m not sure I can see them turning it around in time to save themselves.

**We’re writing this about 20km the other side of Laingsburg. We left Cape Town about 3 hours ago, on the way to Nelspruit. While driving through Worcester, it occurred to us that we are following in the footsteps of our forefathers who, in the late 19^th century, travelled north from the Cape in search of gold. Here we are, in the early 21^st century, travelling north from the Cape in search of goals.

15 June - Port Elizabeth - Ivory Coast vs Portugal

ENJOY THE VIDEO. SLIDESHOW AT FOOT OF THIS POST.

Note: Ok, can we just ignore that result tonight against Uruguay. It's the worst nightmare for Bafana Bafana. Who knows what can still happen against France but qualification for the 2nd round is not looking too good right now. However, this is still our World Cup and I suppose nobody can take that away from us. Sigh....... let's get back to the roadtrip.


After a hectic weekend of watching soccer and hosting soccer parties it was time to hit the road for the first time. We were on our way to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth to watch the much anticipated Group of Death clash between Ivory Coast and Portugal.

The sheer scale of the logistics involved in our 2010 roadtrip really hit us with this trip. Up at 2am on Tuesday morning and on the road by 3am in our brightly decorated car (for which, by the way, we still have no name).

Pulled over by a convoy of flashing police cars within an hour of leaving Cape Town to be informed that we had no back lights. Drove the rest of the 5 hour trip to Knysna in the dark with our hazard lights flashing. True soccer fan dedication.

Knysna is playing host to the French and Danish teams while its near neighbour, George, is a base for the Japanese team. Both towns have gone all out to welcome their guests; there are almost as many Danish and French flags on the streets of Knysna as there are South African flags. The word from the locals is that the Danish have been model house guests, opening some of their training sessions to the public and just generally being accessible. The French, on the other hand, have been like a snooty aunt who comes to stay, gets irritated by the children and closets herself away in her bedroom. The French team's bedroom is the tres upmarket golf resort of Pezula.

It was a very quick stop in Knysna to pick up our cousins, Joe and Justin, and their parents, Andy and Lynn. Then it was on to Port Elizabeth, a further 3 hour drive.

Stopping for 'pad kos' (literally road food) on the road to PE.

It seemed like the whole of Cape Town’s Portuguese community was on the road with us and this was borne out later inside the stadium. This could have been a home game for Portugal.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a most beautiful structure situated in a rather grim part of town. Its exquisite sunflower design contrasts sharply with its grey industrial environment.

There was nothing rough about this wonderful occasion. We were blown away by everything; the organisation, the friendliness of the stadium staff, the ease of access to the stadium and to the food/drink and toilet facilities, not to mention the fact that we were on the highway back to Knysna within 45 minutes of the final whistle. But most of all, we were blown away by the atmosphere. I’ve been to hundreds of matches over the years, but I have to say that the atmosphere at this match was something I’ve never experienced before. Riotous colour and deafening sound against the backdrop of a vibrant rhythm provided by a group of about 60 Ivorians, swaying and clacking some clacky things with precision timing .

The football was pretty exciting too, even though we witnessed our second straight goalless draw. As goalless draws go, this was about as good as it gets.

This match was where we saw  the concept of an African World Cup come to life. The reception Didier Drogba received when he came on was enormous. Drogba has repeatedly spoken of how important this World Cup is to him, because it’s the first to be held in Africa. You could just see him responding to the setting yesterday as he actively encouraged the crowd to get behind the Ivorians. He was ecstatic at the final whistle despite his team only drawing after being the better side on the day. His delight stems from the fact that this very useful African team look like playing a big part in this African World Cup.

For Dylan and I Port Elizabeth was like a practice roadtrip and we’ve used it to test out our cameras, our video equipment and our speed of posting.

But most of all, we’ve used it to practice having the time of our lives on our impending 2010 roadtrip.

SLIDESHOW

11 June - Opening Day - It all begins here

ENJOY THE VIDEO. SLIDESHOW AT FOOT OF THIS POST.


What a day ! What a week !

This country hasn't stopped rocking since Friday afternoon. (Which is why this post is a few days late !) Everyone is now a committed soccer fan ! Spectacular opening ceremony, spectacular opening goal from Siphiwe Tshabalala which literally had the whole country in a state of  hysteria.......even if it was only for 20 minutes.

This day lived up to everything we hoped for for so long.




Cape Town looked and sounded magnificent. When you live in the suburbs and you're woken by the sounds of cars hooting and vuvuzelas blowing then you know something special is brewing. The fan mile was amazing and the stadium was something else. Cape Town Stadium looks magnificent from the outside but when you walk inside and see it full, lit up and about to host a World Cup match it will take your breath away.




Only one low point. My workplace had a big sweepstakes draw. Quite a big prize at stake. We all gathered together to make the draw just before shutting the office to head off and watch the opening game. Was anything ever more predictable than me drawing France. Ugghh !

SLIDESHOW

15 Hours To Go !

Here's a pic of Cape Town Stadium taken by Dylan from the top of Table Mountain at 5pm this afternoon, less than 1 day before kick-off of  the 2010 World Cup.

If the tournament is half as good as the build-up has been then we're in for a treat.

Wednesday was mind-numbing. Over 200 000 fans out on the streets of Joburg.....just to wish the team well. These pics are courtesy of some of my work colleagues, including Peter Khunong and Ken Molefe.

It's not just here that the buzz is building. These pics below were sent to me by Alan Palmer from London. He reckons England is the best place for atmosphere during a World Cup. Alan will be watching at a public outdoor venue on Saturday night when England open up against USA.

Alan and his son had planned to do a roadtrip in SA, just like we're doing, but couldn't make it in the end. He contacted the radio station I work for in Cape Town.....and now Dylan and I will be collecting match programmes as I go to help Alan add to his collection of more than 10 000.

P.S. Is that a vuvuzela I see in that English garden ???

Knysna in the Southern Cape is hosting both France (someone had to I suppose) and Denmark.On Sunday past the citizens of Knysna came out to welcome the teams to their town. Pics from Andy Stoker.

Send pics of the vibe where you are to jwalls@primedia.co.za

"Yoh"....Just another regular week in SA.....

Less than 16 hours to go. I simply cannot believe it. Literally years and years of waiting is almost over. 32 years waiting to go to a live World Cup match (since watching my first finals on tv in 1978). 14 years waiting for South Africa to host the Finals (since our first, failed, bid was announced in around 1996). 6 years waiting for SA 2010 to kick off (since we were awarded this tournament).

Today feels like Christmas Eve when I was a kid....except that this time there will only be one Christmas Day in my lifetime. 

I'm not going to blog properly tonight. I've got too much to organise for tomorrow. So I'm introducing a guest column. Paulo Dias is a colleague of mine with a fine turn of phrase. He's also a soccer-mad Portuguese South African who, I suspect, has also been counting down the last 6 years day by day.  

P.S.......At noon tomorrow I will walk the fan mile with my kids and sister Colette and her husband Pat from Ireland. We'll watch the opening ceremony and Bafana game from a pub opposite the stadium. Then at 8.30pm it's Uruguay vs France.

Here's Paulo's article.............

"Yoh"

I am not one for soliloquy, prose or haiku – I like to keep it to the point, but please allow for me to wax lyrical and tell you about the week I’ve had.

On Saturday, I watched the USA and Australia play a friendly match at the stadium I play soccer. They defended the same goals I do and ran the same side of the pitch I do. It blows my mind that players who cost upwards of R100 million even used the same toilets that I do.

Sunday I joined 10 000 Portuguese on the side of the road to Magaliesburg in the hope that we’d catch a glimpse of the Portugal team bus. I saw a grown woman cry when the bus passed her. God knows how she would have reacted if she had been as lucky as me and 1999 other Porras to get into the team training session where people applauded Ronaldo stretching as much as they would have cheered a hat-trick.

 

On Monday I played indoor soccer as usual. The games can be quite tense and agro, but this Monday there was a sense of camaraderie amongst everyone. Late tackles were greeted with “no worries brother”, where normally they are greeted with fists.

On Tuesday I joined 30 000 Portuguese – of which I was only related to half of them – at a frikken cricket ground to watch Portugal play for the first time on African soil. It’s also the 1^st time I’ve seen them live and it was more special for me as I watched with my dad.

Growing up my father would bring home betamax tapes of euro and world cup qualifying games a week after they had been played and we would watch them together. This was the start of my love affair with football and the Portuguese team.

My dad won’t be traveling to the Portugal games with me – he reckons he’s past that stage in his life where he wants to queue with” rubbernecks who think they’re Ronaldo, blowing dis shtoopid vuvu-rubbish” – so he bought himself the biggest TV I have ever seen.

On Wednesday is when it started getting really nuts. My 1 brother-in-law – pay attention there are a few of them – calls me to tell me how he had dinner with the Portuguese team after Tuesday’s game. We then all know what happened yesterday afternoon. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life and seeing the Bafana players dancing on top of the bus showed how much it means to them. You can be sure that when their bodies are saying no more, they’ll think of that moment and find that extra something that gets them through the game.

Wednesday evening I was on my way to Orlando stadium to be part of the dress rehearsal for the Kick off concert. On the way, my other brother in law phones me to say that he met Arsene Wenger. At this rate, my 3^rd brother in law – who is on crutches after breaking his ankle after a savage stair attack – is going to have Ronaldo law hands upon him and cure him of all that ails him – Hallelujah!!!

So I get to Orlando Stadium to find a full American crew and 5 south Africans huddling in the corner feeling like strangers in our own country.

Let me tell you about yanks – they decide what they want the last minute and then expect it 5 minutes ago.

So there I was – 11pm in Orlando stadium, having coffe with John Legend and waiting for the BEP to finish their run through – I call them BEP now because we’re tight.

What I’m getting to, is that embrace every crazy moment the next 4 weeks are going to throw at you, encourage everyone you meet to do the same.

And take lots of photos.

Make sure your thermal jacket has place to store your sunscreen.

And remember, always wear your sunscreen.

You will never get this chance again so Live it, carry the brand with you and just enjoy.

Because no matter who lifts that trophy on July 11, South Africa has already won the World Cup.

Enjoy the football everyone and don’t ask me to explain offsides to you.

Boks For Bafana

I love where I work. Today I was lucky enough to see the rugby world champions as they visited our radio station to wish their South African soccer counterparts well for World Cup 2010.This Springbok team are something special and to see them in person was a privilege. Less than 3 years ago this very team and their inspirational captain, John Smit, united the country in a way not seen since 1995.



And here he was today doing it again, but this time in honour of the South African soccer team. It's a measure of how important rugby is in this country, perhaps not in terms of the numbers who actually follow
it, but certainly in terms of its massive cultural and political significance. We saw it in Soweto for the Super 14 Final 2 weeks ago, and we saw it again today. Rugby may not be the number 1 choice of the majority but it wields influence far beyond its support base.

It is important to all South Africans that the Springboks should take time out to wish Bafana Bafana well. After all, this is a team who has won a world cup, and even if they were competing against 20 nations rather than 200, winning a world cup is still a major achievement.

John Smit is a class act and he would be at home in any leadership role, not just in sport. I looked at this man today, at his calm and focused demeanour, and recognised that he has a role to play in the development of South Africa, beyond the sporting domain.

But for now it was enough to hear his words of encouragement to Bafana, his advice to feed off the positive mood in the country. He's been through a few down periods as Springbok captain
so he understands the power of public opinion. Ride it while you've got it and make it work for you...........that's how I read his message to Bafana today.

Who's Bringing the Gees ?

Less than 6 days to go and the gees is palpable. For the Irish among you let me explain. Gees is an Afrikaans word meaning vibe or spirit, and pronounced "gheese."  Believe me, there is plenty of gees around at the moment. I suspect that if the Irish players had known just how much gees there was going to be be in South Africa they would have tied Thierry Henry's hands behind his back before the match started.




The gees can be felt all over town, in fact all over the country. Cars sporting flags and wing mirror socks; buildings draped in the flags of the 32 participating countries; people of all ages and colours wearing Bafana Bafana shirts. We visited the V&;A Waterfront today with my sister Colette and her husband Pat (visiting from Ireland) and the atmosphere was crackling. In fact a large crowd was watching South Africa's final warm-up match against Denmark on a big outdoor screen. It is going to be absolutely electric come Friday. You want to watch the opening game (SA vs Mexico) in a crowd just for the atmosphere, but finding a venue with space might be a problem. Foreign fans can already be seen walking around the Waterfront and a massive ferris wheel 60% of the size of the London Eye has been erected to add to the fun.


The highway approaching Joburg airport has been festooned with flags and is guaranteed to induce goosebumps in arriving supporters. In fact goosebumps are in evidence everywhere. There is only one topic of conversation in town this week and the sense that we are about to live through something enormous is tangible.

For the past 6 years we've been hoping that the atmosphere would be like this. It's surpassing our best expectations. Roll on Friday. Roll on the next 5 weeks.