You all have good points but...its part of their CULTURE , its like banning chants froma group of supporters, sure it annoying but its part of it. Also, I dont even realize the horns are there, but u all have a right to your opinion s
I agree, they don't really bother me anymore. Only people who aren't rea;;y paying attention to the games they bother.
Yes, and they were also part of the "culture" at Metrostars/Red Bulls games for a while, because these plastic horns were the cheapest souvenirs sold in the stadium. So lots of people bought them and blew on them and it sounded AWFUL. Enough people complained, and they eventually were banned. THEY ARE NOT MISSED, and they will not be missed next year.
The point is making the noise continuously. Drums are beat non stop, trumpets, whistles, all used non stop all around the world. This is a matter of getting used to it. Don't be obnoxious. You are all babies in here. Let's see who is going win. I already talked to some fans in SA, they told me if the horns are banned they will boycott all games including South African games. Let's see what the South African FA says about that.
I am dealing with posts that have no counter arguments except saying no. If you go to Cameroon games trumpets will not stop. Brazil fans will beat those drums in stadiums non stop. I was there I watched it. I was there when Brazil played in the US in Stanford stadium next to the drummers, that was in 94'. They did not stop the entire game. I went in Los Gatos where they camped, the drums were beat for 2 hours str8 before they broke and then went at it again, so don't give this "ummmm no" answer.
I did not watch too much of the Confed Cup but when I turned it on for the first time I was wondering whether the strange sounds are intentional or my TV has a sound damage... Seriously, these sounds are extremely going on my nerves and I am definitely going to watch the World Cup matches without sound although it's only half of the usual fun. Luckily I have the choice to as sitting in the stadium would probably drive me insane. But in the end it's just my personal take on these things and obviously there must be people who like it, otherwise this stuff wouldn't be sold. In the end all fan cultures are different and it would be silly to prohibit it for the South Africans, after all it's their World Cup. As long as there is no safety issue there is no reason to disallow it.
Agreed and that's really all there is to it. At first you notice it but once you dive into the game it's all become part of the background. But for some to say they have to be banned because they find them annoying is stretching it and acting like spoiled children. That's basically saying: I obviously don't find this sound enjoyable so you shouldn't find it enjoyable either.
Democracy's about giving equal respect and dignity to all people, no matter how small their number. And you cannot take the politics and history out of any cultural practice no matter how bad you all want to. So the simplistic "this annoys a lot of people so it should be stopped" argument is not valid. Western culture enjoys a privileged position in the world, and has for several centuries, often at the expense of others'. Thus, forcing them to give up a practice that is part of their culture (and not a particularly different one ,either. Oooh, noise in a soccer stadium, what a concept! ) because we don't like it/understand it is colonial in nature. Deal with it.
Sigh. THESE ARE NOT SOUTH AFRICA'S GAMES. Do you understand that? The World Cup belongs to everyone. You are sitting here asking millions of people around the globe, people who are deeply invested in their national teams, people who spend four years hungering for the next World Cup, to let some OTHER group of people erode their experience. Why is that reasonable? Why does "South Africa's culture" take precedence over all these other people? The Italian team does not belong to South Africa's fans. Xabi Alonso does not belong to South Africa's fans. The majesty of the World Cup does not belong to South Africa's fans. Why don't you get that? And how patronizing for you to speak of South Africans as if they're children who must be coddled, whose feelings must be protected, because God forbid they feel bad if they can't bring a frikking plastic horn into a stadium. Christ. And one more time: The vuvuzela isn't some "cultural tradition." It's an American-born plastic toy that took off around the same time Britney Spears was lighting up the pop charts.
My ears are my health & safety issue and trying to convince people I know that soccer is a decent sport to watch in a non-soccer dominated country was the other problem. They all thought that it was shocking and not worth watching and so did other things.
"One of the great ironies of the whole debate that has flared up over the proposed banning of the vuvuzela is that it is seen as a racist attack on a black South-African institution. This, when the entire vuvuzela empire is in the hands of a white Afrikaans man and a guy called Beville Bachman." enough said about "culture"
All right can someone get ahold of this guy Beville Bachman, the horn guy, and see what he says - I am sure he didn't want to start a culture war around race or ethnicity, or the poor v rich, or any other "play the card" category.... I sure hope FIFA can take a position on this soon - my guess is it will come to a head publically as the semis and finals draw bigger crowds and more media exposure. I also wonder what the players/coaches think in terms of its effect on play - I have actually now tuned it out (didn't think I'd be able too) but I am having trouble sleeping .. hearing things you know..... :>
Maybe I am really strange or whatever... I don't mind the vuvuzelas at all, and I'm surprised it's that big a deal. This ain't tennis or golf.
Actually I read that the vuvuzelas wouldn't have been allowed at the WC 2006. It seems that for safety reasons people were just allowed to bring items to the stadium that did not exceed a length of 15.7 inches. Vuvuzelas are more than twice as long. Not sure if the rules were a German or a FIFA issue though.
I thought FIFA debated over it last year. They thought thevuvuzelas can be used as weapons. Then, they okayed it last year and that's why they are allowed into the Confederation Cup 2009. Meanwhile, those horn reminded me of the sounds from the early Toyota Cups. What were the noses from the Japanese stadium? [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Vffxvq9UI"]YouTube - History of?TOYOTA CUP(?- XI)[/ame]
Democracy in SA is brand spanking new. A lot has happened in a short time..stuff that would normally take other countries many years. People expected civil war here, and it never happened. Someone with cancer who has ten years to live vs. one who has no cancer, experiences time differently. So using "time", which is all relative, is not the best argument. Ok...fair enough...but how do you explain this argument to some who hasn't been allowed education...hence uneducated? How will the average person understand that it is indeed not about attacking their culture? And how do you convince the educated whose opinion just differs from yours? It's about finding balance. We cannot ban the vz...but maybe the fans need to understand that they need to consider visitors. This can however not happen with force, cause then it will backfire. No...this is just your personal opinion. There are many people who still would want to come, and even buy their own vz's...yes, even foreigners. If you wanna blame the vz for a "miserable world cup", i pity you....there are far more miserable things in life...like possibly the food on the plane on your way here.... In honestly...how is there really a democratic way of dealing with this? Banning it will make many people unhappy...many of whom are locals who will be buying many of the tickets. If its about the "millions" you speak of, they need to deal with this on a television level only. Making the sound effects less, and the commentary more. Possibly microphones on the pitch or something to capture the ball noise and players and less microphones in the stands maybe? Im no sound technician, but surely they can contribute?
Demanding respect, not coddling. And it doesn't matter where the vuvuzela was made and how long it has been used. Fact is, it is used by the South Africans now and it's an important part of their soccer culture now. It doesn't have to be centuries or even decades old to matter. And finally, their culture takes precedence because Western culture has always taken precedence in virtually everything else. It's not too late to give in a little (yes, it's a "little", making noise in a crowded stadium is completely within the bounds of "normal" soccer viewing experience. Like some other poster said, this isn't tennis or golf) and not have our way like we do every time.
I still don't understand the pure hatred I'm seeing for those horns. I don't particularly like them, but I don't see how they could possibly ruin the games for anyone. They're just part of the crowd noise. After the first few minutes of a game, they just seem normal to me, so I stop noticing them. People are focusing on the horns way too much. Even if you really dislike the horns, I can't see how they could be anything other than an annoyance. Certainly not something that has to be banned because it will "ruin the World Cup."
They did not have the vuvuzelas when South Africa won the African Nations' Cup at home in 1996, correct?
They shouldn't ban it....but maybe discourage it...or at least not encourage people to use it...maybe if they sell enough foam fingers like in the USA, their hands would be too full lol...
I'd ask those who annoyed by the Vuvuzela to please consider joining our facebook group and signing our petition. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=259702&id=711535183&ref=nf#/group.php?gid=98657511812
Ban the Vuvuzela - Join our group. STVU Hi there, Like many of you, I love the World Cup and can't wait for the tournament to begin. But these horns, the Vuvuzela, are so annoying that if you were watching the game at home it would make it practically impossible to enjoy the experience. I ask you to please consider joining our group over here on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=259702&id=711535183&ref=nf#/group.php?gid=98657511812 And sign out petition too! There are others out there as well. Eventually we'll garner enough support to stop this abomination. Thanks, Lino
Re: Ban the Vuvuzela - Join our group. STVU That's nothing. Whenever the US plays down in Central America and Mexico, there are many fans blowing similiar horns just as loud as the vuvuzuelas. It's just as annoying, yet teams don't care that much. You'll live.