Vuvuzela hurting World Cup experience

by Eric Schwartz

Tuesday June 15, 2010 

Vuvuzela hurting World Cup experience thumbnail

I had a bad experience today.

While doing some yard work I came upon a bees nest. Wisely I chose to stay away from the nest, doing my best to avoid any type of swarm coming at my face. Yet despite my best efforts, the bees came charging, buzzing around my face for what seemed like hours. The annoyance of the whole event goes beyond words.

OK, truthfully that event never happened.

Instead I simply turned on the World Cup.

Anyone who has experienced even a minute of the World Cup can emphasize with what I am speaking of. The host South Africans don’t chant, don’t cheer, don’t sing. Instead they play a horn known as the vuvuzela. And they play it all game. Every game.

I’m hardly the first blogger or reporter to write about this. The vuvuzela has been talked about as much as England goalkeeper Robert Green these days. In fact I’m not sure which issue the English are angrier with right now.

Players haven’t commented much on the horns but there have been reports that the decibel rating in the stadium is enough to damage your hearing. I’m not sure I buy that, though. South African fans  have been doing it for years and I don’t see any of the players wearing earplugs.

The President of FIFA recently came out and said he would not ban vuvuzela playing from the stadiums and I have to support his decision. If it’s a big ritual in South African culture, then who is he, I, or anyone else to tell them to stop playing?

That doesn’t mean that this whole vuvuzela thing doesn’t grind my gears though. I mean don’t these people have to stop to take a breath once in awhile?

When I tuned into the first World Cup game on Friday I noticed the horn playing but thought, like any other background noise, it would simply go away. The problem is it hasn’t.

One of the great things about soccer is the passion of the fans. I love the cheering and the chanting. It’s what helps make the sport so beloved around the world (even if not in the U.S.).

During this World Cup we get none of that.

It’s funny how much things change in a couple of weeks. Suddenly I long for the “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole” chant again (as long as it’s not coming from the Canadiens, that is).

Go figure.

Filed Under Grinding My Gears

Comments

2 Responses to “Vuvuzela hurting World Cup experience”

  1. Ryan on June 15th, 2010 7:27 pm

    i love it haha

  2. Doug on June 16th, 2010 12:33 pm

    What I can’t hear you lol

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