Close (But No Cigar)

At 1-0, we dared not dream it. At 2-0, with France having a man sent off, and Uruguay 1-0 up on Mexico at the half, delirium set in. Could the boys do it?

Unfortunately no. Having to overturn a massive goal difference, Bafana needed to thrash France and have Mexico lose handily to go through to the next round. Though they pressed for more goals in the second half, their attack stuttered after France pulled a goal back, and both sides seemed content to play out the 2-1 scoreline. So South Africa is out of the tournament, but finishing on four points and bouncing back from the Uruguay debacle has restored pride and lifted spirits.

On Wednesday, we attended the Ghana-Germany match at Soccer City, the massive venue that will host the final. While getting to the stadium from the park-and-ride was much quicker than anticipated, the 3/4 mile march to the gates from where we were dropped off proved less efficient. The stadium itself is impressive, the outer calabash (gourd bowl) design obscuring the ramps that lead to the upper levels inside. Unlike Ellis Park and the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Soccer City has a canopy around the upper levels to keep the chill out. I know what you're thinking, don't snigger- it's been close to freezing or below most nights.

Unfortunately, this canopy also keeps the noise in, most notably the vuvuzelas, which up until this point hadn't bothered me at all. The German contingent, always well represented, seemed infatuated with their newly aquired toys. When the face-painted Deutschlander in front of us could produce only a dying wheeze from his horn, the guys next to me were keen on demonstrating their own vuvuzela blowing prowess, leading to numerous random blasts directly into my ear hole. As I remarked to Marnie, a thousand vuvuzelas in rythmic harmony can be a wonderous thing, but the instrument in the hands of amatuers is a recipe for disaster. My advice: if you can succesfully play a line of "Mary Had A Little Lamb", join in. Otherwise, go toot somewhere else, far far away.

The Ghanians solved the problem of inept vuvuzela playing by providing their own band, and by that, I mean a band. A full percussion section accompanied by brass, which never stopped playing from whistle to whistle. And they were good. TBDBITL has competition.

While I was enjoying the action on the field, Marnie was, well, not so much. The plugs jammed firmly in her ears made verbal communicaion difficult, and the large South African oke spilling into her space put her in a decidedly cranky mood. Did I offer to switch her spots? Of course I did. Did she accept? Of course not (she's difficult like that).

Shortly before kickoff they played the highlights of the US' and England's matches, both sneaking 1-0 victories, the US leaving it until the 91st minute. After an entertaining first half full of missed chances, Germany's wonderkid Mesut Oezil (his parents are Turks) blasted them ahead 1-0, Ghana seeming to run out of steam afterwards.

Thanks to a little assist from the Aussies beating the Serbs, Ghana still goes through to play the US in the next round, while England face their old foes Germany.

Anyone have a Tums?