Give us a break - a lot of us have no interest in soccer (nothing to do with Bafana Bafana/being white/being poor) but this did not keep us from going to the games even after our team lost and totally embracing the sport during the world cup. We wanted this World Cup to succeed and judging from all of your comments we managed to make some things work.
yup, you did succeed and there was no venom intended in my post. just an observation by some comments made by seat neighbors. at the Mexico-South Africa game my cousin and i managed to trade shirts with 2 seperate sets of S.A. fans so i came home with a nice souvenir. not store bought, but exchanged out of mutual respect. btw, the public transportation options: buses, mini taxis weren't bad as portrayed. always tooked the crowded ones only for safety reasons and we saved tons of money taking them throughout the Sandton/4-Ways/Rosebank corridor. the looks from the riders were priceless, from "what planet did these guys come from" to amusement once we started reacting to the drivers tendicies to drive the vans or bus like they were in a mini-car.
Hmmm. Except for the fact that I just got robbed last night coming back from the game, everything else was great. More on that later once I get back home. At OR Tambo right now.
Sorry to hear that Scorpyn. I was also relieved of some cash a week ago. It was only ZAR200 for me. Could have been worse as I had more cash and phone on me. I'm glad to say it was not representative of my trip which was fantastic.
Here is a fun Review of the World Cup: http://tjg2.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/2010-world-cup-south-africa-in-review/
Just want to throw my two pence in. Me and my friends had a whale of a time for three weeks in Durban, Kruger, Bloemfontein. Rustenburg and mainly Johannesburg. Maybe I'm easily pleased but if people had problems with transport then I'm afraid you should have planned your trip in advance (unless you had a TST - different story). I had a car for three weeks and went on at least 5 long road trips but we knew that would be the case before we left. Some of the views I saw were truly breathtaking. The petrol was 50% cheaper than in England and it was very easy to get from A to B. Park and Walk was sometimes a half hour walk to the stadium but if I cant walk 2KM then I am seriously spoilt...however unfit I think I am. Sure it would be better if it was closer but does it really defect from your trip? It was not even a issue for me and my friends. A chance to soak up the atmosphere. A point on the Vuvuzelas .... I admit on TV they can be a bit of nuisance but at the stadiums they can be fantastic and at some point the noise is literally deafening...if you cant beat them join em. Its Ayoba time folks. FIFA - Sure they are not everybodys cup of tea and Sepp Blatter would not make it on anyones Christmas Card list but credit to the organisation for trusting Africa with the world cup. They were even willing to give it to SA in 2006 and I think they were justified in handling the tournament while a safer option may have been a more developed nation. Their prices I admit were OTT but they still managed to sell 95% of all tickets. I had a few more points to get off my chest but cant remember right now. Anyhow I had the time of my life and the people in South Africa were overall VERY friendly and endearing and I have definately recommended the place to people back home. In addition the nightlife turned out to be pretty cool as well, really good chance to meet people from over the world as well as the locals lol! If Brazil 2014 is 75% as good as SA2010 has been then I will be a happy man. Now wheres that Portugese language app on my iphone lollll...
Great!! I think a lot of how you experience a country depends on your attitude (and how well/badly your team is playing!) If you expect the same vibe as at a previous world cup or the same options as are available in your own home country then be prepared to be disappointed. A person has to adapt to the way things work in different countries and you seem to have been prepared and flexible to embrace this. Thanks!
I had a fantastic time spending three weeks out in SA even though I did force myself to follow Englands flops around. I have one memory that lasts and its of a montage played in the stadium about half hour before kick off. Its not the waka waka one (though that too was fun) but a song that started 'sound of the.....' and showed clips from archive footage of old world cups. It was awesome and loved seeing that sitting in the grounds in the build up. Please please please can someone help me work out the name of that song!? Even better, is the montage Im talking about on youtube!?
I think it might be 'sign of a victory' but cannot find the exact same footage that they showed. http://www youtube.com/watch?v=vOzIj8zcJaY&feature=related That was the only problem I had with the Vuvuzelas in that we could barely hear the music beforehand and in previous world cups it has been a great build up to matches.
You are a hero - Thanks very much! Agree though - Vuvuzelas should not have been there except for the three SA games. If spitting on the floor in China was banned for the olympics so too should the plastic trumpets...
Actually this might be the actual one used...[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daDDJ0GlZkQ"]YouTube- World Cup 2010 South Africa Song - R. Kelly - Sign Of A Victory[/ame]
Well, back home now and have to say that our visit to South Africa was fantastic. The welcome from the South African people was wonderful, attending live matches was superb (especially Uruguay v Ghana) and being able to say I have been to Soccer City and Green Point Stadium is immense. Safari, Table Mountain and Robben island were fab as well as a full day wine tour. Yes, we got relieved of some cash, but it did not in anyway diminish our fantastic holiday. We start saving for 2014 from tomorrow and will definitely fly business next time!
Hi Lowerleague!! It's nice to read that you had a wonderful WC trip. It was nice to meet you during our stay at Marc's treehouse in Kruger. Thanks for the "Carnivore" card with info about this restaurant, we had dinner & watch Brasil/Holland on a big screen there. My son Joseph & I were rigth, when we told you about how nice is Cape Town & its atracctions. Our WC 3 week trip to SA was awsome too, we didn't have a single incident there. We were invited to a braii the day before we came back by locals & were treated like kings. I already deposited my first $50 dlls towards WC 2014 & hope we can meet up during wc in Brasil. Say "hi" to your partner too! Good luck to Man U & hope el "chicharito" has PT & score his 1st goal with MU soon!! Federico
Hey Federico, Am glad you guys made it to Carnivore. It was great to meet you guys and if we ever find ourselves in the States we will give you a call. The saving for 2014 starts today, helped by the cash we saved by not going to the poor final! Tom
I had a great time in Cape Town and Durban. Thanks to our SA friends...gronum, emmex, broughtmy and all. I read it all. Hope I can return the favour in 2018 - you never know!
Hi Richard!! I got your message. It was a pleasure to watch USA/Ghana 2nd round match with you guys in Victoria & Alfred B+B in Port Elizabeth, good talk about football with you Ric, while drinking those good SA beers & had a good pizza for dinner that nigth. I hope we can meet in Brasil with you again & go to a match too. Keep in touch & good luck!! Federico.
" But one has to look at South Africa and understand that it would almost be impossible to build a public transport system for its vast locations." ..have to disagree here. Other countries have coped [eg Australia] but 'rome wasnt built in a day' so long term things should improve with the wc impetus.
Have to agree with these two ! I was staying in Brits and after spending an hour trying to find my car in PnR the traffic jam after was horrendous. Think I got home after 2am.. Have to mainly disagree here. I drove 4500kms in 8 days and had various issues including potholes on minor roads and Stop/Go's on major highways. Drivers were a mix of crazy and courteous. Once I was in a stream of traffic stuck behind a truck waiting my turn to pass with plenty of oncoming traffic. I pulled out with one or two cars ahead of me to assess and was overtaken by a car over 4 cars back going at least 160km with oncoming cars. Luckily both cars in my lane AND approaching gave way to this lunatic..and he/she was not alone during my trip ! Generally the main highways were spot on which actually encourages this mad behaviour
Random Quotes/Answers The stadiums were all good but some are world class. The stadium in Durban is a work of art. So is the Cape Town stadium. It's in a great location along the ocean and is quite a sight from the top of Table Mountain. For the doubters that said South Africa couldn't get it done, from what I saw (Rustenburg, Bloemfontain, Ellis Park, Loftus Versfeld, Durban and Cape Town), the buildings were great. Didn't get to Soccer City but it looked pretty good on TV" Also need to add as bad the complete lack of signs at OR tambo for collection of tickets. What else did they think thousands of visitors might want on arrival. Asked at least three people and even there sod all signs but amass of people squashed into not muach more than a corridor at the back" And once again, the "local" brew to drink here is Windhoek lager. Costs pennies more than the Carling Black Label and Castle, the more popular beers here. The douche security at the Pretoria stadium that wouldn't let us hang our banners on the stadium's rails. "Flags don't kill" - Enzo Francescoli Merchandising. All the fan shops at the stadiums were tiny except for the one at Soccer City. And everywhere I went, I found stores with different merch in each one. I couldn't just do all of my shopping in one place. And they didn't give you baskets at the store at Soccer City." TO BE EDITED
Great thread. Back home a few days ago and its so hard getting back to regular days ... In short, my first WC was a wonderful lifetime experience (3.5 weeks, 14 games, 10 stadiums, 4 National Parks, 2 domestic flights, more than 6500 km by car, no GPS) Good: S. African people. Great atmosphere in stadiums and streets. Weather - just perfect. Seats view (ALL stadiums) Worldwide fans National parks and game reserves Internal flights Roads and traffic Rented cars and offices service Security and Police Most B&B's and restaurants https://www.nightsbridge.co.za Sani Pass w/ 4x4 (Drakensberg, SA-Lesotho border) BigSoccer and TA forums Scorpyn's scanner. Legend ! Bad: FIFA Football quality (generally, below my expectations) Empty seats in too many games Fan shops and lack of game/stadium unique items before the semis P&W distances Rustenburg traffic Local beer FIFA (Where are our refunds?) L.