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World Cup woes
Jun. 16th, 2010 01:07 pmWHAT.
So, the first shocker of the World Cup aside, I want to talk a little bit about how uneasy this whole deal is making me feel. At first I thought that things were just getting off to a slow start, but more and more I'm thinking that the lethargy of this World Cup is symptomatic of something larger and much more ominous and disturbing.
This is the first World Cup in Africa. You'd think that in this day and age, we might be able to handle that, to pull it off with decency and a true bonding of people from around the world.
Apparently we can't. The constant whining about the vuvuzelas is one indicator of that. Vuvuzelas are a fundamental part of how South African people enjoy their sporting events, but all these foreigners have come in and instantly starting bitching and blaming the sound for their own poor performances. I honestly didn't notice, or consider it bothersome, until someone else pointed it out to me. Now I understand that the sound through my internet feed is much diminished compared to what players and refs are experiencing on the pitch (and I think it is a problem when players can't communicate or hear the ref's whistle) but that doesn't change the fact that these instruments are a part of the local culture, and to complain about them is like to complain about Premiere League fans singing songs all the time. It's offensive and it's intolerant, and has taken up far too much of the talking time around this tournament.
Everyone's also bitching about the ball. It's entirely possible that the Jabulani ball really is that strange, that it's throwing off the best football players in the entire world. But honestly - teams like New Zealand, Switzerland, North Korea - all of these underdogs have gotten goals from this ball, so why can't Spain or Argentina or Italy? At least certainly not with the frequency expected of them. It seems like a convenient excuse for what is just some poor football, and that makes me unhappy. Take some responsibility, guys! Now I don't think there's nothing to their complaints - Germany was obviously the team who actually managed to blast several goals home, and "coincidentally" (or not), their Bundesliga (national club league) adopted the Jabulani back in December. So I think that probably is a factor, but the teams should just practice with the ball and stop whining.
But the thing that's unsettling me the most is how badly the actual people of South Africa are being treated. The first warning flag was on Sunday when local hired security personnel protested because they received 1/10th of the wages they were promised, and they were shut down by riot police. The protests have not stopped and the security of half of the stadiums have been taken over by South African police. Furthermore, poor South Africans have actually been moved out of their houses by their own government and into literal shantytowns just to "clean up" the area around the stadiums and present a "good face" to the world.
This turns my stomach. Certainly the South African government is culpable here, but also culpable is FIFA for allowing local people, hired to help out with the tournament, to be treated in such an abominable way.
I'm getting more and more uneasy with how things are unfolding. I think all of these factors are contributing to why we just have not seen quality football. Every team has played now, and the only one who really wowed was Germany, and even they had their flaws. Selfishly, that's awesome, because I would love nothing more than for Germany to win this thing, but in terms of the tournament I just really hope some of these issues get resolved in a peaceable, humane way, and that the quality of the football also improves. Or else my World Cup fever may be doused far too soon.
So, the first shocker of the World Cup aside, I want to talk a little bit about how uneasy this whole deal is making me feel. At first I thought that things were just getting off to a slow start, but more and more I'm thinking that the lethargy of this World Cup is symptomatic of something larger and much more ominous and disturbing.
This is the first World Cup in Africa. You'd think that in this day and age, we might be able to handle that, to pull it off with decency and a true bonding of people from around the world.
Apparently we can't. The constant whining about the vuvuzelas is one indicator of that. Vuvuzelas are a fundamental part of how South African people enjoy their sporting events, but all these foreigners have come in and instantly starting bitching and blaming the sound for their own poor performances. I honestly didn't notice, or consider it bothersome, until someone else pointed it out to me. Now I understand that the sound through my internet feed is much diminished compared to what players and refs are experiencing on the pitch (and I think it is a problem when players can't communicate or hear the ref's whistle) but that doesn't change the fact that these instruments are a part of the local culture, and to complain about them is like to complain about Premiere League fans singing songs all the time. It's offensive and it's intolerant, and has taken up far too much of the talking time around this tournament.
Everyone's also bitching about the ball. It's entirely possible that the Jabulani ball really is that strange, that it's throwing off the best football players in the entire world. But honestly - teams like New Zealand, Switzerland, North Korea - all of these underdogs have gotten goals from this ball, so why can't Spain or Argentina or Italy? At least certainly not with the frequency expected of them. It seems like a convenient excuse for what is just some poor football, and that makes me unhappy. Take some responsibility, guys! Now I don't think there's nothing to their complaints - Germany was obviously the team who actually managed to blast several goals home, and "coincidentally" (or not), their Bundesliga (national club league) adopted the Jabulani back in December. So I think that probably is a factor, but the teams should just practice with the ball and stop whining.
But the thing that's unsettling me the most is how badly the actual people of South Africa are being treated. The first warning flag was on Sunday when local hired security personnel protested because they received 1/10th of the wages they were promised, and they were shut down by riot police. The protests have not stopped and the security of half of the stadiums have been taken over by South African police. Furthermore, poor South Africans have actually been moved out of their houses by their own government and into literal shantytowns just to "clean up" the area around the stadiums and present a "good face" to the world.
This turns my stomach. Certainly the South African government is culpable here, but also culpable is FIFA for allowing local people, hired to help out with the tournament, to be treated in such an abominable way.
I'm getting more and more uneasy with how things are unfolding. I think all of these factors are contributing to why we just have not seen quality football. Every team has played now, and the only one who really wowed was Germany, and even they had their flaws. Selfishly, that's awesome, because I would love nothing more than for Germany to win this thing, but in terms of the tournament I just really hope some of these issues get resolved in a peaceable, humane way, and that the quality of the football also improves. Or else my World Cup fever may be doused far too soon.
