Why We Love the Vuvuzela
With apologies to my many vuvuzela-hating friends, here’s an essay (in French) written by Achille Mbembe and myself on experiencing the vuvuzela in South Africa. An English translation is available here.
Category Archives: South Africa
Maradona Makes Me Happy
I’m here in South Africa, and last night went to the see the Argentina-Mexico game at Soccer City. I’ll warn you that a portion of this post will sound a bit like FIFA propaganda, so if you can’t stand that please stop reading now. But the feeling here in electric and ebullient, and I really… Read More »
Watching Ghana Beat the U.S.A., in Johannesburg
Well, being on a different continent certainly changes things. After the epic flight from the U.S. to South Africa — 16 hours, including the required putzing around on the tarmac in Atlanta — I arrived just in time to catch the U.S.-Ghana game at a restaurant here in Melville, Johannesburg. I watched with Simon Kuper,… Read More »
Farewell France & South Africa
Well, that was exhausting. I don’t think I’ve ever been so conflicted. The traditional fan in me was rooting for France, the romantic for South Africa, and I really didn’t want Mexico eliminated either. So much hope for South Africa for a sliver of time, after they had scored the two goals and Uruguay 1.… Read More »
France vs. South Africa, Then and Now
In 1998, as the French team prepared to play their first World Cup match, they heard singing from the opposing team’s locker room. The Bafana Bafana — in their first World Cup appearance after the end of apartheid, fielding an integrated team — were gearing up to play with song, and as the two team’s… Read More »
World Cup Diary : Day 1 : plus, politically correct picks
South Africa vs. Mexico Truly the dullest opening match in my memory. No upsets, no good football. Sloppy stagnant stuff, not to mention the maddening drone of the “vuvuela,” one invention that I wish I’d never heard of. When the crowd caught its collective breath, one was subjected to the asinine commentary of American television… Read More »
World Cup Whining
Allright, I’ve got to come out and admit it: I’m sick of a certain kind of whining about the World Cup. I know this is an odd thing to say: after all I should be sick of all the cheesy, commercialized, opportunistic advertisements, and FIFA propaganda blah-blah about global understanding and rainbows of love showering… Read More »
World Cup and Poverty: Make a Difference
This summer 32 nations will fight in South Africa to be named the world’s best footballing nation. This summer 63 international matches will take place in 10 top-of-the-line stadiums. This summer the entire country of South Africa will open its arms and embrace the world. This summer 6 billion people will come together and be… Read More »
African Teams, But Not Coaches
As the big countdown ticks away, less than 100 days before the World Cup, perhaps Africa’s strongest team, Ivory Coast, is still without a coach. An article in the Zimbabwean brings up the state of African football and its reliance on foreign coaches. In Cote D’Ivoire, the disgruntled Vahid Halilhodžić was unceremoniously dispensed with following… Read More »
South Africa and the World Cup Symposium at Duke
All are welcome: Click here for a map and directions
