A whirlwind month of World Cup mania came to a close on Sunday night — and what a month it was in South Africa!
The Thanda office at Durban’s beachfront fan park watching South Africa play its last game.
Those of us who work in the Thanda office don’t exactly know what we’re going to do with ourselves at 4:30 and 8:30 p.m. now. We literally planned our work agendas, eating patterns, and sleeping schedules around the games! In fact, I’m pretty sure I missed just one full game — England vs. Germany — and that was only because I spent the afternoon with another volunteer at a maskandi concert.
A maskandi group dances on stage at the soon-to-be-rained-out concert.
Thanda staff members and students celebrated the beginning of the games with several days of nonstop fun. They put on a celebratory parade around Umtwalume two days before the opening ceremony; students and community members alike got to participate in a three-day soccer tournament, complete with non-soccer activities and prizes; and the basketball kids got to work on their athletic skills during a two week-long basketball camp (conducted in the mornings, of course, so nobody had to miss any World Cup games).
Thanda students march down the road, blowing their vuvuzelas and singing songs to announce the World Cup’s arrival in South Africa!
Two community teams square off during Thanda’s “Local Cup.”
In addition to orchestrating daily music marathons of Shakira’s Waka Waka song and K’NAAN’s Wavin’ Flag, us Thanda volunteers managed to experience World Cup mania in person as well!
We watched several games at Durban’s beachfront fan park. The Coca-Cola-sponsored venue boasted a huge screen and a stage, situated smack-dab in the middle of the sand. During crowded matches, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder with locals and tourists alike, while during not-so-popular games, we were able to sit down, stretch out, and enjoy a few hours in the sun watching soccer.
Durban’s fan park during the first game of the World Cup!
Durban’s fan park during the Ghana vs. Uruguay game. See the difference?
The most exciting fan park experience was definitely watching the opening match between South Africa (more affectionately known here as Bafana Bafana, which means “boys boys” in isiZulu) and Mexico. We ended work early that day and rushed to Durban from Hibberdene to get in on the celebration. Little did we know, the outdoor venue had a capacity limit. So while half of our group got in and settled on the sand, the group of stragglers I was in ended up having to sneak in through a hole in the gate.
I must say, breaking the rules (which definitely isn’t my thing) has never proven to be so rewarding! I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else for that opening game! The intense vibe emanating from the crowd was filled with so much optimism, euphoria, and pride. And, thanks to the incredible amount of vuvuzelas present, you could literally feel the excitement vibrating in your chest. It was so cool!
Thanda's volunteers, plus some out-of-town visitors, at Durban’s fan park during the opening match of the 2010 World Cup!
Bafana Bafana scores!!!
We each got the chance to see a game live at Durban’s Moses Mabhida stadium as well. While we all couldn’t get tickets for the same game, three of us volunteers went to Nigeria vs. South Korea. And what an experience it was!
The game took place right after Bafana Bafana played its last match against France. Although Bafana Bafana didn’t move on to the next stage, they did beat the socks off the snooty French team. So as we made our way from the fan park (where we watched the game surrounded by faithful Bafana Bafana supporters) to the stadium, we saw that most Durbanites were still in high spirits.
The point that clinched the win for South Africa!
Naturally, us three American volunteers rooted for Nigeria (seeing as though none of us have South Korean roots, of course). Just in case people questioned our solidarity with the Nigerian team, we made sure to show our green-and-white spirit: We wore as much green clothing as possible; sewed a very large Nigerian flag out of green and white fabric; donned over-the-top afros and a banana costume; and accessorized with green ribbons, bows, sequins, and sunglasses.
Don’t we look like native Nigerians? I think so...
After a short drive through an excited city, we arrived at the stadium. And, boy was it spectacular all lit up at night!
Wow, right?!
On the way in, we were jumping up and down, blowing our vuvuzelas, posing for pictures, and high-fiving people left and right. It was so much fun!
Our seats were waaayyyy up in the nosebleed section, but we could still see the field and the little ants playing on it. One of our goals was to get shown on the big screen in our crazy outfits (particularly the banana costume), but I think we were sitting too high up for that to happen.
See, we could still see all the action!
South Korea to your left; Nigeria to your right.
The vibe throughout the game was definitely something to experience: there were vuvuzelas and crazed soccer fans everywhere!
Our new German friends, who were supporting Nigeria and one player from South Korea (because, during the regular season, he plays for a German team).
A very large cohort of South Korea fans, complete with a very large display of the South Korean flag.
After a long and energetic battle on the field, the game ended in a draw: Nigeria – 2; South Korea – 2. This was the final match in the group stage, though, meaning that, due to their superior performance in the three previous games, South Korea advanced to the next round while Nigeria’s World Cup ended there. So basically, Nigeria lost. Which was obviously a blow for us hard-core Nigeria fans.
Out of despair, the three of us took forever to get out of the stadium. We were moping around, hitting the walls, and yelling at every South Korean fan we saw.
Just kidding!
It did take us forever to get out of the stadium, but that’s because our banana became the most famous un-famous person at the game! She took photos with I-don’t-know-how-many Nigeria fans, South Korea fans, South Africans, Americans, and little kids from all over the place. It was hilarious! She would get stopped once every two minutes or so to take a photo. As we walked away from the stadium and down the highway to meet our ride (night-walking is something we’d never been able to do in Durban prior to the World Cup being in town, by the way), our banana took to high-fiving and shaking hands with every South Korean she could find, telling them congratulations for moving on to the next round. And she made sure to make friends with all the local cops, too — just in case, you know…
Walking away from the stadium after the game. It was weird to be out and about on the streets of Durban after the sun went down!
Our banana, looking for friends.
Our banana, finding friends!
So that’s a little taste of what we did for the World Cup in South Africa! And what an experience it was!
