One thing I cannot complain about in South Africa, is how the World Cup (unlike USA 94) is being lived and felt everywhere. No matter where you turn, people have flags and Bafana Bafana shirts. Also, vuvuzelas.

Nothing special about them: They are just plastic horns, just like the one that my dad bought me at the stadium during a Mexico 86 match. However, they are everywhere!

During the opening match, the whole South African crowd had their vuvuzela and they used it nonstop. It got really, really loud… a high pitched buzz constantly in the background. It prevented the players from hearing each other and get organized. We struggled in the stadium to get some Mexican cheers organized, with limited success, due to all the noise. You could see Chicharito tell one of his co-players that he can’t hear him.

And this is all good, after all, they are the hosts and this is their home team advantage. It’s a South Africa match.

But why are people bowing on this damn thing ALL THE TIME? Before the game, after the game, on the streets, inside restaurants. Everywhere. It’s really annoying. I’ve been really close to sticking a vuvuzela up somebody’s ass for three days now and it’s not likely to get better. You know it’s especially bad when you are the Holland vs Denmark match and you can’t hear a single chant, which takes away a lot of the World Cup experience.

Update 6/15: Yes, ear plugs are always in my pocket but so far I haven’t used them (except to sleep, but that’s a different story). Tonight during Brazil’s game, the kid next to me had a vuvuzela. I hid his vuvuzela when he went to the bathroom. Oh well…