# Request to all international soccer fans: STOP THAT FUCKING BUZZING! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942 "2010-06-12T18:49:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/181 "2010-06-14T15:02:12Z")
I liked the bit at the end of that Daily Mail article about the MP3 file that’s supposed to silence the vuvuzelas through active noise cancellation. I doubt it will work, but I admire the entrepreneurial spirit of the person who is offering it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/182 "2010-06-14T15:15:48Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Long plastic horns? I recall blowing on them in the 1960s at hockey and Canadian football games. Don’t people do that anymore? Vuvuzela? It’s the same loud plastic horn that people blow at sporting events here (known as “that fucking horn the guy behind me is blowing my eardrums out with”). ETA: I finally looked up some video to see what all the hullaballoo is about. Holy shit, is that annoying! ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/183 "2010-06-14T15:19:17Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > I highly doubt this. I don’t. And I think if anyone turns up with a vuvuzela in a European ground, they will be blowing it thru their ass! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/184 "2010-06-14T15:31:19Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I liked the bit at the end of that Daily Mail article about the MP3 file that’s supposed to silence the vuvuzelas through active noise cancellation. I doubt it will work, but I admire the entrepreneurial spirit of the person who is offering it. Sounds like utter twaddle to me too - it must surely have to be reactive to the actual waveform to cancel the noise… but yeah, clever marketing. I do find them fucking irritating but yet they do add something unique and atmospheric to the proceedings. I can’t see how it would be difficult to ban them at the gate if they really cared - they’re not exactly easy to hide. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/185 "2010-06-14T15:33:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Only four countries have ever gotten to host a second World Cup, and all four of them got their first way back when the only possible venues were Europe or South and Central America. Well, except for Mexico, which got its second just 16 years after its first because the Colombian economy collapsed after it won the hosting vote and Mexico was the only eligible nation which could afford to put together a hosting bid in 4 years. I don’t know about that, isn’t the US a frontrunner for the 2018/2022 vote that’s coming up in December? We last hosted in 1994, which is within living memory for most of the nation’s soccer fans. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/186 "2010-06-14T15:35:44Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Vuvuzela? It’s the same loud plastic horn that people blow at sporting events here (known as “that fucking horn the guy behind me is blowing my eardrums out with”). When I was a kid, I kept one hidden away that I used when sneaking up behind my parents. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/187 "2010-06-14T15:38:31Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > I don’t. And I think if anyone turns up with a vuvuzela in a European ground, they will be blowing it thru their ass! The next likely sub-Saharan African host would be (IMO) Nigeria, which is already very unlikely to host the games due to serious infrastructure problems (Ghana is another possibility but I don’t think they could ever raise the funds for any upgrades). South Africa will be(is already) a success, but it will be a long time until any other African state can pull off something similar. Vuvuzelas mean jack in the large picture. Egypt is my best bet for next African host of the world cup. They have a great team and have already hosted the Nations cup four times. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/188 "2010-06-14T15:39:14Z")
Just found a [guide](http://i.imgur.com/rEAil.png) on how to use them. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/189 "2010-06-14T15:42:43Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > When I was a kid, I kept one hidden away that I used when sneaking up behind my parents. And you made it to adulthood? Impressive. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/190 "2010-06-14T15:43:56Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > \ > > Egypt is my best bet for next African host of the world cup. They have a great team and have already hosted the Nations cup four times. What’s the Egyptian cultural noisemaker? Tubas? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/191 "2010-06-14T15:52:23Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I don’t know about that, isn’t the US a frontrunner for the 2018/2022 vote that’s coming up in December? We last hosted in 1994, which is within living memory for most of the nation’s soccer fans. The US has submitted a bid. Front-runner is a bit strong, IMO. I strongly suspect Qatar will get one of the two just because there’s never been a Middle Eastern World Cup host, and that the other will go to England (not since '66) or Russia (who’ve also never had one). > [@orcenio](#): > > The next likely sub-Saharan African host would be (IMO) Nigeria, which is already very unlikely to host the games due to serious infrastructure problems (Ghana is another possibility but I don’t think they could ever raise the funds for any upgrades). South Africa will be(is already) a success, but it will be a long time until any other African state can pull off something similar. Vuvuzelas mean jack in the large picture. Don’t forget Morocco. They’ve bid 7 different times, and finished second to South Africa in the voting for the current Cup. Of course, they’re not sub-Saharan. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What’s the Egyptian cultural noisemaker? Crumbling grandeur. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/192 "2010-06-14T16:04:49Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > And you made it to adulthood? Impressive. I was lucky. My parents were older, so they didn’t have as much energy to spare trying to catch me as younger parents would have. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/193 "2010-06-14T16:18:35Z")
To me it sounds like driving on a tined concrete road. Fortunately, we don’t have such roads where I live now. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/194 "2010-06-14T16:19:20Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > What’s the Egyptian cultural noisemaker? I don’t know, but it had better not be that Bangles song. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/195 "2010-06-14T16:51:46Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > I was lucky. My parents were older, so they didn’t have as much energy to spare trying to catch me as younger parents would have. And they might have begun losing their hearing a bit… ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/196 "2010-06-14T16:59:03Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#): > > What the hell – I’ll field this one with a google-free educated guess: > > They’re both formations, probably listing the number of backfield, midfield and foward players. If you’re playing with a lead, move an extra player to the backfield for a more defensive structure. If you’re behind, have the extra man take more of an offensive role. > > How’d I do? Well you got that they’re formations. Apart from that, pretty poorly. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/197 "2010-06-14T17:14:30Z")
I only noticed the buzzing this morning since a match was on instead of SportCenter. At first I thought it was just something temporary, but then it became kind of creepy because it just sounded like a swarm of insects. Worse, as an American who generally doesn’t care about the sport, it made it even more difficult to find any interest in what was going on, not just because it was creepy, but because there was no variation in the reaction the crowd based on the action on the field. Personally, I don’t really care much, but I can see it hurting television viewership here in the US, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it eventually gets muffled out by ABC. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/198 "2010-06-14T17:34:44Z")
I flipped the WC on to see how bad it was – fortunately the commentator was louder, but damn, that’s annoying. South Africa wasn’t even PLAYING. (It was Cameroon vs. Japan). Hell, they showed highlights from the Netherlands playing Denmark and those damned things were STILL buzzing. WTF!!! Like someone said, I can see blowing on them if your team scores, but during the entire game? And not just that, but during announcements and fucking national anthems? How rude can you get? And selling “ear plugs” is not the answer? Why should others have to wear ear plugs just because you can’t be considerate? (“South Africa’s Cup” my ass. That’s like saying that the this year’s Winter Olympics were “Canada’s Olympics” because they were held in Vancouver. :rolleyes:) ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/199 "2010-06-14T17:39:09Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > The next likely sub-Saharan African host would be (IMO) Nigeria I got that email too. ---
**Author:** ![tallcoldone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@tallcoldone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tallcoldone)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942/200 "2010-06-14T17:54:27Z")
Part of the enjoyment is hearing crowd reactions when a signifcant play, good or bad, occurs. With all that buzzing, I don’t hear any of it and the whole match goes flat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/request-to-all-international-soccer-fans-stop-that-fucking-buzzing/542942.md?page=11)