http://gawker.com/5562294/those-crappy-horns-may-be-banned-from-world-cup-games http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/13/world-cup-vuvuzela-ban-tv-complaints SHould have been done after the Confederations Cup. Maybe too much technology for Blatter! I want to hear the crowd with their chants and songs. I couldn't believe there was none of that at the US-UK match.
The thing is, it wouldn't be fair to ban them now. If they were banned before the world cup, fine. (That's what the Confederation Cup was for, right? Test event and all...) Horns weren't banned in Mexico, and in all fairness they shouldn't be banned from South Africa mid-tournament either. Having said that, they really suck.
Apparently the horns are a South Africa culture. I am not sure FiFA wants to mess with the host nation culture. We have to live with it.
the problem with that is that it's not the South African Cup, it's the World Cup and they just happen to be hosting it. It's fine to have their culture involved with the tournament but when it drowns out other cultures it's disrespectful as far as I'm concerned.
There's nothing to deal with. The horns are part of South African sporting culture. This is a sporting event in South Africa, thus part of the sporting culture of South Africa. Mute the TV or mess with your equalizer to minimize the noise or just live with it. I am fine with it so I'm sure you're capable of eventually tuning it out.
They are not going to ban them, so we just have to suffer them for the rest of the tournament. I'm just glad I probably won't see another tournament in South AFrica in my life time.
There is a saying that goes something like when in Rome do what the Romans do or something like that.
Well, never mind. FIFA president backs vuvuzela tradition Associated Press JOHANNESBURG -- FIFA has a message for all those vuvuzela haters: Buzz off. Despite criticism from World Cup TV viewers around the globe that the swarm-of-bees sound from the plastic horns is stinging their ears, the organization left no doubt Monday that the uniquely African soundtrack is here to stay. "I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound," Sepp Blatter, president of soccer's governing body, said in a Twitter post. "I don't see banning the music traditions of fans in their own country." He went on to ask, "Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?" FIFA and Blatter have strongly backed the use of vuvuzelas since they were introduced to the wider football world at the Confederations Cup test event in South Africa exactly a year ago. With a much broader audience for the World Cup, the vuvuzelas have drawn strong reaction from Boston to Bhutan. "What is the buzzing noise at soccer games?" was one of the week's top-searched questions online, according to Yahoo. "I am a casual football [soccer] fan, have been anticipating the World Cup since a recent trip to Europe. However, I can't stand that noise that drones on throughout the broadcast, so I will not be watching," American Michael DiSalvo wrote in an e-mail to Associated Press columnist John Leicester. ESPN has received some complaints, but "not an overwhelming amount," network spokesman Bill Hofheimer said. Al-Jazeera, South Korean broadcaster SBS, TF1 in France and Brazil's BandSports also have heard from viewers unhappy about the racket. "In France, there's big, big noise about it. Viewers are completely mad by it," said Philippe Kaufmann, head of production for sport for TF1. "It's very difficult to hear this permanent noise." Some fans say they've resorted to watching matches with their televisions muted. On Monday, tips on how to filter out the vuvuzelas sound on individual TVs circulated on the web. TF1 changed its microphones after the opening match between Mexico and host South Africa, replacing them with mics that filter sound. Other broadcasters are altering the sound mix to minimize the crowd noise -- just as they do for other noisy events, including NASCAR races or basketball games. "This event is no different than any other event -- except the sound is unique to South Africa," said Jed Drake, the executive producer of ESPN's World Cup coverage. And organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo said television viewers aren't the same as fans in the seats. "I wouldn't dwell too much on what outsiders think about vuvuzelas. I would dwell ... on what the feelings of the spectators are," he said. FIFA does have one request for fans: No horns during national anthems. At Monday night's game between Italy and Paraguay in Cape Town, announcers asked the crowd to hold off until the anthems for both sides finished. Once the game kicks off, though, the noise can be deafening, with some games louder than others. That can take a toll on players. "In many parts of the game it can bother you a bit because you can't communicate anything to a teammate who's more than 10 meters away from you," said Spain striker David Villa, who first experienced the vuvuzelas at the Confederations Cup. However, Villa also said the noise "brings a nice ambiance and some emotion." Besides, the horns are ingrained in South Africa's history, Mkhondo said. "You find that they emanate from the horn which was used by our forefathers to call meetings," he said. "As our guests, please embrace our culture, please embrace the way we celebrate. "You either love them or you hate them. We in South Africa love them." And, to be fair, these colorful little instruments are not universally reviled. "From a home-viewing perspective, I personally don't mind," said Rekha Shankar, a student at New York University. "We're watching for them to play. If they're not affected, we shouldn't be either." Mkhondo mentioned that visitors were snapping up vuvzelas and "stuffing them into their suitcase" for the trip home. England defender Jamie Carragher is one of them. "My kids have been on the phone," he said, "and they want two."
I say ban the horns, make sure every stadium has a McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken, sells Budweiser and Miller Lite only, plays corporate pop music to rile up fans--maybe something brilliant like that poetic "Sex is on Fire" or the new Taylor Swift single, and implements breaks half-way through each half so we can see some extra commercials. These damn horns are a sign of a unique cultural experience and I am sick of difference in this world; it's time for everyone to be the same and Sepp Blatter just blew a golden opportunity to help that process take shape through a ban of the vuvuzela.
Criticisms of the horns are valid but it bothers me that the loudest critics in the US media are people who are not soccer fans and are happy to have a reason to bash the tournament...they were hoping for huge fan riots, visiting fans robbed/killed and maybe a terrorist attack thrown in for good measure. But none of that has happened(yet!) so they are going to make a big stink about the horns. The same whiners don't seem to have a problem with thundersticks, cowbells and loud rock music at NBA games
well, the people who actually watch soccer and complain complain because they're not used to that noise at soccer games but maybe are used to it at basketball games. The people who tune in for 10 mins a day and complain about it don't know what they're talking about and were given their complaint talking points by their producers/editors.
I would just add one other thing: I get that some of what is lost hear is the sound of fans singing, which is really one of the unique and wonderful features of live football. I have no idea where the people sit who blow the vuvuzelas since a lot of crowd shots do not feature people blowing the horns (nor do the shots show people singing) but it would seem to me that proper mic placement should allow for some other types of crowd sounds. One would think that given the noise at the Confederations Cup that TV networks would have thought about this, discussed mic placement, and acted accordingly. That would mean that mics place near German supporters, for example, would pick up German fans singing. If ESPN's producers want those sounds and less vuvuzelas then the sound engineer fades up the sound coming from the German fans and fades down the levels recorded where the horns are loudest. This wouldn't be perfect because I'm sure traveling fans are blowing the horns as well, but at least it could produced a more diverse sonic experience.
I always thought Thundersticks etc were stupid. I nearly got in a fight once in Ukraine because some guy kept blowing a horn behind me. It was physically painful, not just annoying.
I was at a Knicks game in November sitting in the last row of the Garden. WHILE the game was going on dopy garden employees came into the section and handed out thundersticks to almost everyone. For the rest of the game people were having sword fights and banging them together the whole game and just generally being annoying. I mean I understand it's the Knicks, but some people actually go there for the game.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/columns/story?id=796528&cc=5901&ver=us A South African says, BAN IT!
Sorry, but damn the horns except at African Nation games. I want to hear other countries songs and chants.
http://lifehacker.com/5564085/how-to-silence-vuvuzela-horns-with-an-eq-filter?skyline=true&s=i How to silence them?? I have no idea if it works or not.
I heard the international feed has already been cut in half, the crowd noise that is. All hail our new masters, the vuvuzelas.
Then you'll enjoy Euro 2012 when the air will be filled with lovely racist and sectarian chants from those Eastern European 'fans'