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