Blow that horn

After reading the blog from Roxy Poxy, http://roxylaker.wordpress.com, about the tweets from Blue Spi, http://twitter.com/Bluespi, it got me so infuriated at the ignorance of the guy. The lack of knowledge about the South African culture was enough to have this guy act like a complete idiot. He’s limited vocabulary showcased how small minded, vulgar and racist he is. All of which society at large could do without. It’s amazing how quick the world is to judge South Africans about how uncivilized we are but this guy does no better in my opinion.

So in defense of the all mighty Vuvuzela I thought it was apt to shed some light on our soccer memorabilia – which is exactly what it is. The Cape Times last week, wrote a story on how the Vuvuzela is taking the world by storm. iPhone has developed an application for download which showcases the Vuvuzela in all it’s glory. While many complain about the noise, the Vuvuzela sound has been downloaded more that a million times. According to www.news24.com, the app has been a run away hit. "It's the Vuvuzela jackpot," said Jeroen Retrae, co-designer of the iVuvuzela at http://moblio.nl/. After gaining only a few thousand downloads since its launch eight months ago, downloads exploded after the start of the tournament, mostly from the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

The Vuvuzela has become the Soccer World Cup trend on Twitter, according to FIFA; the Vuvuzela Moment officially caused the "first ever" World Cup-related trending topic on Twitter.The official FIFA World Cup Twitter account, FIFAWorldCupTM, with around 57 000 followers, joined the action, tweeting "thank you South Africa" and claiming that "the first World Cup related trending topic on Twitter has arrived! The #Vuvuzela is a trending topic".

If the Vuvuzela was such a bitter pill to swallow, why would UK Sainsbury make it part of their product line? According to a spokesperson for the group, so far they have sold 40 000 Vuvuzelas, at £2 each. "We figured that it was going to be part of the World Cup given that it is such a traditional instrument for South Africa," spokesperson Thomas Knorpp told Sapa. Sainsbury has reported that they have sold over 40 000 since May 19. While Blue Spi may not be one of the 40 000 people purchasing the Vuvuzela from Sainsbury, it is an indication that the support for the South African horn far out ways the perception and criticism that it is receiving from this bitter individual.

So while Blue Spi may still not be convinced, maybe he should get himself some ear plugs…or better yet, maybe he should give the 2010 World Cup a miss, as he threatens to do on his Twitter…one less small minded person to deal with. This is South Africa and we are proudly South African and we will blow our Vuvuzela loud and proud!

It’s here, can you feel it?

My first bit of soccer fever started on Thursday, 10 June 2010, as we filled the streets of Cape Town to watch the opening of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Cape Town did well in providing big screens for the Capetonians...although, it was hard to hear anything over the excitement of the crowd. The entertainment was amazing, R Kelly graced the stage, resulting in many fans screaming at the top on their lungs.

I was truly proud to be South African as the streets filled with the parades activities. A true reflection of South Africa as the Coons took to the streets and Marimba bands showcased their rhythm. People were dressed in various traditional clothing, from African to Indian to drag queens – showing how diverse SA really is. There were people airing their laundry, gum-boot dancers, girls showing off their soccer skills, janitors and others carrying samoosas and koeksisters which was a laugh to many.

One thing is sure, it was a night to remember as people, young and old, came together to show their patriotism despite their race, financial status, sexual preference or gender. In my opinion, it was just what we needed to bring our Rainbow Nation together.

Feel the rhythm of African Football

It’s amazing that half way through the year, people are saying 2010 is here. Well, at the lack of sounding completely stupid…most are referring to the 2010 Soccer World Cup. While the excitement is slowly creeping in on the Mother City it would only be the right thing to do and join in on the festivities. I recently learnt the Diski Dance in spirit of the Soccer Fever and cannot wait to showcase them.

According to the website, www.diski.co.za, there's a new dance revolution taking the country by storm - the 2010 Diski Dance. South African Tourism has encouraged residents to learn the moves ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. The dance is based on the unique way in which South Africans play soccer, "rhythmically, somewhat showy, but never boring". Spearheaded by SA Tourism, the dance was initially devised for an international television advert aimed at highlighting South Africa's readiness to host the World Cup. It was screened globally on CNN, BBC, National Geographic, Eurosport and Sky News Sport in the weeks leading up to 2009 Fifa Confed Cup.

The dance comprises five major steps derived from soccer moves, including a juggle, a header, Table Mountain (flattening the back to keep the ball behind the head), Trepa (flicking the ball from behind the neck, over the head and onto the foot) and the Bridge (passing the ball over the left foot with the right foot and back again). Learn the Diski Dance moves and be apart of African history...

Holding the country ransom

Striking in South Africa seems to be the country’s favourite past time lately. Striking over work conditions, regulations passed that the workers feel are unfair, not getting paid or not getting the increase they ‘deserve’ and the list goes on…there are many reasons for people to throw their toys out of the cot.

Investorwords.com define the term ‘Strike’ as a work stoppage undertaken in support of a bargaining position or in protest of some aspect of a previous agreement or proposed agreement between labour and management.

Now I realise that in order for a strike to be effective, it needs to felt by the economy but where do we draw the line??? There are University of KwaZulu-Natal students out of control protesting about fees. Aurora's Orkney mine workers downed tools regarding not being paid for March.

How many times have the taxi’s striked and burnt tires on the N2 motorway, putting commuter’s lives in danger. The recent strike by a union burnt three carriages of a Metrorail train, costing millions to replace and days before tourists will flood Cape Town. Today’s front page of the Cape Times is about hundreds of Malmesbury students protesting about overcrowded class rooms, these protestors (not forgetting that they are still children) then set the classrooms alight…now what good would that do for the situation? How is it possible to forget basic human conduct and to resort to the boys in the novel ‘Lord of Flies’…are we all barbaric just looking for a reason to act out?

The SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) strike which is said to continue after agreement could not be made over salary debates. Could this continue till the much anticipated event, 2010 Soccer World Cup? How long can they hold a country at ransom when we should be working together to be building a stronger nation so that we are recognised internationally as being able to hold our own?

With the World Cup coming…I dread to think how many people will use this opportunity to hold the country hostage and milk it for all it is worth and manage to discredit it all at the same time. So many people are thinking of the now as opposed to what the future could hold for this country which has so much potential. While I am not saying that people should just accept unfair conditions, I am saying, why can we not agree to halt strikes, protests, violence, racial conflict and act like the ‘Rainbow Nation’ we claim to be….even if it is just for one month…