It's been a little over one week into the World Cup in South Africa, so here are my "Random Blasts" about the world's most watched, single sporting tournament.
1. Vuvuzelas. If you've watched any of the World Cup matches in South Africa, you recognize the constant sound of bees buzzing around every stadium. These are actually plastic horns called "vuvuzelas," which are part of the current landscape of South African soccer supporters. Fans have been blowing into these horns non-stop for entire matches. Some people are annoyed by the buzzing sound, and I have one piece of advice for them: Shut the hell up and watch the match. If the vuvuzelas' sound is enough to detract from your enjoyment of watching a game, you don't care enough about the sport. Relax, and tune it out. It's really not that hard.
2. The ball. Adidas was given the privilege of designing the official World Cup match ball for the South African World Cup, and we've heard everyone from keepers to forwards to pundits criticizing the ball for being too light, and reacting bizarrely when kicked. My view? The players should shut up and play. The pundits have to fill up broadcast time, so they can criticize the ball all they want. But the ball isn't changing, and the players need to use this ball to score. If they can't use this ball properly, they don't deserve to win the World Cup.
3. Commentators. I find it fascinating how some people love certain World Cup commentators, and other people hate these same commentators. What is it that people want? I've been told that some people want accuracy in their announcers. Well, announcers are not computers. They will get rules wrong, they will be emotional, they might see the game differently than some viewers, and ultimately, these men are human. Give them a break. Then, I have heard people say that certain commentators are not emotional enough, as if the level of excitement shown by the play-by-play man is important enough to affect the emotion of the viewer. Really? Do you really need your play-by-play man to scream uncontrollably after a goal is scored? I don't. In fact, I don't need to hear the commentators at all to feel the emotion and energy of the matches. People are WAY too critical of really inconsequential things.
4. Optimism vs Pessimism - I find it fascinating that some supporters will practically guarantee a win from their favorite teams, and others are so pessimistic as to predict ultimate disaster for their team well before the kickoff. I fall on the side of holding out hope, but I don't like to predict outcomes. Why do people risk humiliation by claiming that their favorite team is guaranteed to win? Also, why be so down on your team to predict failure before the final whistle? Have hope, pray, watch, and enjoy the moment. Your team might not win, but you can make it more enjoyable by moderating your attitude.
More later . . .
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1 comment :
The VuVuelas are part of South African sports tradition, who has the right to tell them what to do and how to do it. FIFA took the World Cup to Africa so just let them enjoy every minute of this tournament before the world forgets about them again......
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