For those of you who have been watching the confederations cup in South Africa, you probably have heard the consistent noise (not in a good way) from the stands. The local footballsupporters are all blowing their vuvuzela (a type of horn) and seem to think it adds to the atmosphere, while it is just pointless noise.
Commentators from many countries as well as some of the players have been complaining about this as voices - both on the field and in the commentator booths - are being drowned out by the noise. Today Sepp Bltter (president of FIFA) has said they’d look into it, but that it is part of the local football culture and the europeans and south americans (and whoever) should just adapt.
I for one am not looking forward to having a worldcup where there is a constant ringing noise comming into my livingroom. In past tournaments the organisations has been very easy with confistcating attributes that are deemed loud or to be portraying the wrong corporate sponsor (Heineken toeters), so please - for all people that want to watch the tournament in comfort - no vuvuzelas during the worldcup!
The vuvuzela is nowhere near as bad as the complainers make it sound. We manage to have major football matches (60 000+people) and the players commentators etc all get along just fine. It was announced today that FIFA won’t be banning the vuvuzela.
Not that there will be a lot of vuvuzela blowing fans at the world cup, the tickets for locals are limited and horrendously expensive, well above the means of the mostly working class football fans.
I hate it as well. It renders the matches unwatchable.
The Confederations Cup is not a tournament of major standing, and I gather that the organising committee has had to reduce the price of tickets, or give them away in some cases, to get reasonable attendances.
The same is not true of the World Cup. Hopefully, this will price out the vuvuzela-toting hordes from most of the games.
If not, I fully support a ban, followed by a sustained aerial bombing campaign if necessary. While we’re at it, can we deal with those wankers who play the same bit of the theme from The Great Escape over and over at England games?
From what I’ve read, the only reason that they would ban them is if they were used somehow in fan violence. So I think we need some English to get drunk and render one of their opponents harmless using a vuvuzela in the process. This would get them (the English and the horns) banned from the matches.
Aside: Am I the only one who keeps reading vuvuzela as vulvazela?
Certain types of vuvuzela are already banned, such as ones made out of metal because angry football fans with meter long clubs are a problem.
And a ban would lead to huge protest from the SA football fans and these are people who have had decades of experience when it comes to riots, strikes and rolling mass action.
Yup can’t have the unwashed (and black) masses ruining the game for the poor European who traveled all the way to darkest africa and has to put up with strange and frightening native customs.
Your outrage Hammos1 may just tempt me into buying a ticket so I can be the one white guy in the expensive seats with a vuvuzela.