I know what you’re thinking, what on Earth is a Vuvuzela? For those of you who have been watching the Confederations Cup in South Africa you will probably have heard some insanely annoying buzzing noise that sounds a bit like Satan playing a Kazoo – this is the Vuvuzela (see pic).
Some commentators, players, managers and fans have all complained about the noise and suggested banning them at the World Cup 2010. Indeed, FIFA actually did ban them until the South African Football Association (SAFA) made a presentation and suggested you would not get a true South African football experience without these horns.
Even though the noise is awful (horrifying really) I’m inclined to agree with the SAFA on this one. As much as the World Cup is about football it is also about the global football community and exploring new footballing cultures. If I’m starting to sound a bit like a hippy here I’m sorry, but it generally is the way I feel. Indeed the Vuvuzela is so important to South African fans it has come to ‘symbolise the sport in the country’ according to southafrica.info.
Basically, no matter how annoying the Vuvuzela simply can’t be banned. It would take away the whole point of holding the tournament in South Africa. I was watching the Confederations Cup with a friend of mine and I’ve got to be honest, we both thought it was a bit much. It turns out everyone else did as well and there has been quite a lot written about it on the internet already (search ‘Vuvuzela’ and you’ll see what I mean). However, I found this gem of a quote on the official FIFA website to back the unconventional instrument’s cause.
“When we started the vuvuzela, there was so much sadness in our country in those years and it brought so much joy,” said Mzion Mofokeng, deputy chairman of the South African team’s supporters’ association. “All of a sudden people would go to the stadiums because of this instrument that was able to get fans on their feet and start cheering. For few hours, they would forget about the reality in our society and enjoy the sound.”
So there you have it, everyone will moan a bit but it is a part of their football culture and the governing bodies can’t change that – nor do they want to. The English fans sing and have a very British brass band, the Brazilians use the samba drums and the South Africans have the Vuvuzela – it might not be the prettiest of sounds, but it is their sound. And if the noise does get too much for you to bear, you can always hit mute….
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
We cannot listen to this game. This buzzing noise is horrific. We wanted to give soccer a “try” since we a big sports fans of other games played primarily in the USA. Maybe some other venue would have suited us better. The noise hurts my ears through the TV. Whoops!
Whoops! Really horrific noise from the soccer game.
I love soccer but I cannot take this noise. I just came back from watching the game US vs Brazil. One hour later the noise is still in my head.
This noise is going to make me skip many games. This is making me crazy. Another reason I am glad that I am not going to this world cup. Imagine you are at the game. If South Africans think that this noise is part of their culture, they can keep it. I will never watch any South African games in my life. Just the world cup and on the mute position.
By the way, I agree with you. Banning would be wrong. But I read some comments saying that soccer authority were giving those damn Vuvuzelas for free to soccer fans. I found that very obnoxious if true.
Maybe the next time England hosts a World Cup, which should make hooliganism legal, as it is clearly a part of football culture there, and it would be wrong to take it away.