Bafana Bafana

The FIFA Confederations Cup has been one of three huge sporting events ongoing in South Africa since I arrived. On any given day you can watch either a live match or non-stop repeats of previous matches. The other two key sporting events at the moment are the cricket world cup and UK-SA rugby series. The ticket prices and the location of the stadiums combined with the poor public transportation has resulted in only watching matches on the television. Even though I have not been able to take in a match live it has still been an experience.

South Africa received an automatic berth in the tournament as the 2010 World Cup hosts, not based on the previous performances. Coming in to the tournament the media had written off the team and most media was calling for the coach to be fired before the tournament even started! My first experience was watching the South Africa - Iraq game in Johannesburg at a small smoky pub (Joburg has a no indoor smoking policy, however, it is viewed as optional). The bar was wall to walk people to the point where you could not actually make your way to the bar to buy a beer. You had to pass your money through the crowd with your request and your beer would be passed back. The bar was packed and every other person brought a vuvuzela - a plastic horn. The place was super loud to start with and whenever South Africa (or Bafana Bafana as they are locally referred to as) came within scoring distance the vuvuzelas would be blown to ensure the walls of the poor pub were shaking. By half time the game as a 0-0 draw.

The Bafana Bafana surprisingly advanced into the playoffs however met their match in Brazil. Tonight is the bronze medal game against Spain and the celebration has already started on the streets (5 hours and counting before the game even starts!). I am sure tonight will be another experience.