FIFA World Cup 2010 - I was there!!

I have already posted about the soccer and I'm sure you probably know there is a World Cup taking place here in South Africa at the moment - if you don't then you have obviously been tightly wrapped in cocoon somewhere for a very long time!

Now I wouldn't call myself a soccer fan and mostly I was not particularly phased by this huge event happening here for the first time but with all the excitement that Abigail brought home from school and all the flags and soccer paraphernalia it was pretty hard to remain uninvolved. Needless to say we have become fanatics here and have watched soccer everyday since it started - almost every game or at least part of every game.

I had a birthday 10 days ago and yesterday I got a phone call from my brother offering me his ticket to last nights game! The conversation went like this: (After all the pleasantries had been exchanged!)

Andrew:"we were going to give you a voucher for a spa treatment but I'm not able to go tonight and I was wondering if you'd prefer the ticket"

Debbie: (after very little deliberation) "I'll take the ticket"!!! It was a no-brainer really!!

(They had a lot of tickets and he's already been to quite a few games including some in Jo'burg, Durban and Bloemfontein.)

Now let me explain that after Bafana Bafana were knocked out I decided to support Spain because up until last night they had not received a single yellow card. Last night's match was Spain vs Portugal - so I was very excited!!

Of course, this is Cape Town so it was pouring with rain. I had planned to do the fan walk with the girls but it would have had to have been postponed anyway as it was just too wet. But even if it had been blazing sunshine, I would have ditched them for the ticket!!! Shocking, I know!!

Anyway, Lisa very kindly took both girls as well as her 2 boys to the MTN Science Center for the afternoon and then they slept over at my parents as it was bound to be a very late night.

I left home at about 2pm to stock up on cash, water and batteries and headed for UCT to catch a shuttle to Town. This was part of the very efficient park and ride system set up by FIFA to ferry people to and from the stadium without a MAJOR traffic situation.

I was first to board the bus but was soon joined by some American tourists and a few others. The rain was still coming down at that stage.

I arrived in Town at the Civic Center which was a central point for all the shuttles where you had to disembark and board another bus to the stadium. However, I had to meet Jackie, my sister-in-law who had my ticket and who also knew what was going on! (They do big events all the time - I am not that experienced with crowds and stadiums and big events!!) So because many of the roads were closed I had to walk to a place that she could reach by car. It was still raining a little by that time so I set off looking like a pregnant Hunchback of Notre Dame - vuvuzela in hand!!! I must have looked hilarious in Grant's wheelchair poncho with my backpack on my back and camera around my neck - all under the poncho, but I was dry!!!

Once we found each other and Jackie had been home to change (they live in Town) we set off on our journey. We parked a little way from the "fan walk" and started walking.

It was very festive and there were thousands and thousands of people.

It was still quite early so we went for supper along the way first at the Cape Quarter shopping center which was packed and really, really loud!! From there we could also watch the other game between Paraguay and Japan which was very exciting and ended in the first penalty shootout of the tournament.

At about 7pm we left to finish the walk to the Stadium which was looming like an enormous ship ahead of us.We had to queue for about 40 minutes to get through the security checks (where they confiscated the stick of my brand new Spanish flag!!) and only just made it in time - the teams were coming out to sing their anthems just as we sat down!

The stadium is HUGE! And it is really beautiful. The photo's didn't do it justice but the effect of the lights around the "ceiling" which is open in the middle, against the black sky was amazing.

This spidery thing is the camera that is responsible for most of the television coverage, suspended above the field.

The game was exciting but goalless at halftime. The crowd kept themselves entertained with singing, cheering, Mexican waving and blasting their vuvuzela's!

It was quite weird to be there when you've seen it on T.V., the field looks much longer on T.V. than it does in real life. It looks a bit squashed up close!! We were sitting right behind one of the goals. Great seats!

At half time Zakumi made an appearance! The REAL Zakumi!!

This green haired "leopard" that you see below is the 2010 mascot.

I was informed by my daughter that his name means "South Africa 2010" - ZA = the international code thing for South Africa, and "Kumi" meaning "10" in one of the 11 official languages that we have so "Zakumi" = "South Africa 2010".

Another thing you don't see on T.V. is the little men that come out at half time to patch up the field!!

The second half was more eventful as Spain scored the one and only goal of the match. Woohoo!!! A bit embarrassing for Portugal who scored 7 last time they played in Cape Town!

After the game I had to make my way back to the Civic Center to get the bus to UCT where my car was parked. It was a long walk and a bit of a wait but it all went very smoothly and there were officials and police all over to ask for assistance if needed.

I got home at midnight, very tired, ears ringing but having had such a good time.

It was really a once in a lifetime experience, one which I would not have had if Andrew had not offered his ticket. So, THANK YOU VERY, VERY, VERY MUCH, it was amazing.

Here's hoping Spain make it all the way to the end... we came accross these guys with a banner:

and I think I agree with them!!!