If you friend me on Facebook you would think I was advertising Vuvuzelas, but honestly, I’m just another enthusiastic South African loving the attention that our country’s newest and loudest icon is getting.

Much of the attention is very amusing and there’s so many articles, posts, rants, photos and whathaveyous out there about Vuvuzelas that I just can’t help sharing them with my friends – most of whom, of course, think the piece of plastic, fast becoming a South African national treasure, is most annoying.

Anyway, so here’s some cool, albeit a little weird, South Africans with a hearth-felt, innuendo-filled song about our beloved Vuvuzela.

The bad news is it’s all in Afrikaans, but the good news is I tried my best to translate the lyrics.  Go on, sing along.

If you don’t, there’s always the bikini clad South African hotties to look out for.  If you’re not into bikini clad South African hotties, then there are some geysers with porn tashes and enviable beards for you to ogle too.

* Please save me your corrections. My Afrikaans isn’t rusty, my spelling just was never that great. And it’s a colloquial translation, not a direction translation, more translating the idea.

** Braai is how we BBQ in South Africa. It’s a universal term really, akin to Ubuntu, so I’m not translating it..

Blaas jou Vuvuzela Lirieke [blow your Vuvuzela Lyrics]

It’s just the nature of being South African; we love South African things. And the biggest thing to come out of South Africa since Charelize Theron and Pronto Condoms, is the Vuvuzela!

Previously the Vuvuzela was used in moderation at football games around South Africa, and thinking back to the football games I’ve seen on TV in South Africa, they weren’t all that intrusive.  Regardless, the Vuvuzela was considered football paraphernalia and was never heard at other sporting events.

Enter stage right the South Africa FIFA Football World Cup 2010.  One little Vuvuzela’tjie was blown on TV and people opened their traps about it.

Have you ever noticed what happens when you honk at somebody in front of you who’s driving, in your opinion, too slowly?  They slow down even more. That’s what I do anyway, and I think it a very South African reaction.

So thank the thousands of people who complained about the Vuvuzela for its phenomenal global explosion in popularity.  Not only did moaning about it spur the Vuvuzela blowers on to greater decibels, but all the moaning generated extraordinary publicity / marketing for the Vuvuzela in a way only viral social media can, which caused a stampede of football watchers / fans / Mongolian hunter-gatherers to go out, buy one and try it for themselves.

Not only has Vuvuzela been trending on Twitter since the World Cup started, but name a newspaper and I’ll name a media outlet who has published an article about it.

People have started selling Vuvuzelas online, something that I’m sure has generated much more interest if not business. So much so that somebody asked if the Real Vuvuzela Would Please Stand Up, and, supposedly, it did – a church in one of South Africa’s provinces, Kwa-Zulu Natal, claimed that it had the right to the Vuvuzela.

Some purely fun / public service websites have also sprung up to give the poor souls out there, who don’t have access to Vuvuzelas, the much needed virtual experience of a Vuvuzela so as to not be left out in the noisy dark as to what it’s all about.

Head on over to BlowMe.co.za and get some Vuvuzela action. Therapeutic. Almost.

But you know you’ve made it when you’ve been touched by YouTube.  YouTube has stepped into the Vuvuzela fray with the most useful Vuvuzela-related innovation I have seen this far.

The next time you watch a YouTube video, watch out for this little football icon in the bottom right-hand corner next to the CC icon (only appears on YouTube.com and not imbedded videos).

Now you can add a Vuvuzela to any video on YouTube.  The uses are endless.

Take this video of Julia Malema for instance.  It was when he crapped out the BBC Journalist.  Now you can play the video and instead of listening to Malema rant, you simply click the botton to blow the Vuvuzela and drown out most of his voice by submerging yourself in the sound of football World Cup euphoria.

Love it or hate it, the Vuvuzela is now world culture. Poooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I’ll be the last person you’ll ever see at a screening of a regular football (soccer) game, yet, like many, I find the World Cup irresistible. And it’s not just because I’m from South Africa either.

Fine, a large part of me is drawn to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa for the very reason that it is in South Africa.  The minor parts of me are drawn to it because teams competing against each other on a country-level brings out something very competitive and patriotic in me.

Bafana Bafana – Boys Boys

Of course the team I support first is the South African Football Team, which are known as Bafana Bafana in the same way the South African Rugby Team is known as the Springboks. It’s a term of endearment, which contrary to their Wikipedia page, actually means Boys Boys. From my understanding, at least.

But it seems as if the rumours are true. You know, the rumours that said that the only reason South Africa is in the Football World Cup at all is because we’re the host nation.

Yes, our national soccer team doesn’t have a fully stocked trophy cabinet -  the Africa Cup of Nations it the only trophy in the cabinet – but we do have some skills.  And one or two players in other country’s club leagues.

So Bafana Bafana might not be the smart choice to bet on, but they’re my number 1 priority to support. Even though thus far they’re not doing that great and might soon be out of the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup.  But until they walk off the field for the very last time, I am a South African Football Supporter through and through.

In The Meantime…

While South Africa isn’t playing my allegiance lies with other African teams and Asian teams, and it’s them I root for in games that do not involve South Africans.

I saw the dark side of South African fans in our game against Uruguay.  The vuvuzelas where roaring, the crowds were cheering and then South Africa was 2 down against Uruguay.  Suddenly the vuvuzelas fell silent and the crowds became quiet – shortly after the stadium started to empty.

I know it was a terrible game – South Africa stood around as if they too were spectators.  But for our fellow fans to desert them like that hurt.  If it hurt me as a fellow supporter, imagine how the team on the field must have felt.  If they had the wind taken out of their sails by the goals against them, I can’t even imagine how the silence of their supporters must have been the kick in the ribs while they were down.

South Africa in the Rest of The World Cup

So experts and those who know nothing both agree: South Africa probably won’t advance any further than the pools in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on their home ground.

But France is not exactly in good shape either – in fact, they’re much worse off than Bafana Bafana.  For that reason I think our Boys still have a chance.  A slim chance, but a chance non-the-less.

If we beat France, and we beat them good to get our Goals For up, they might still have a chance.  And if Bafana Bafana wants to take that chance, I will be right behind them cheering to do it with gusto.

I promise that if the team doesn’t let the country down and try their hardest, the country won’t let them down.  You might not win, but at least die trying.

Go Bafana Bafana, go Boys Boys!

Here’s Some Quality World Cup Links for Instant Info

• Google.com’s Most Recent Scores & Upcoming Games
  It defaults to South Africa time (on Google.com), but you can your local time by using your local Google: google.com.my for everything in Malalysia time, for instance.
  
• FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa Full Schedule of Games
  Defaults to South Africa time, but you can set the time zone for easy conversion and have the times be for your time zone.
• FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa Standings
  A must have chart for following your team and see which other teams pose a threat – or not.
• Twitter.com’s FIFA 2010 Football World Cup in South Africa Coverage
  Not all of it is interesting, but most of it is certainly relevant.  If for some reason you can’t follow the live broadcast of your favourite game, you can always tune in to Twitter and follow the live game there.  Could be exciting… And if you hash the 3 letter code of a country, like in #rsa, or #worldcup – you’ll get a nice little icon next to it on the Twitter website.

After a nail-biting match the Springboks managed to stave off the All Black’s last ditch surge, and won what might as well have been the Tri Nations finals, 32 – 29 to claim the Tri Nations 2009 trophy.

When the South Africans conceded a penalty after just a minute and half of play and the New Zealanders pounced on the scoring opportunity to chalk up 3 points, I had flashes of Brisbane.  4 minutes later the Springboks got awarded a penalty of their own to equalise at 3 all, wiping my doubts.

The Bokke continued and opened up a lead they wouldn’t again relinquish and closed off the first half with a 22-12 lead.

The Springboks stood their ground in the 2nd half and opened up their lead to 17 points.  The All Blacks upped their game and in a particularly brilliant moment where the ball was passed in quick succession by overlapping players, they even looked like the All Blacks we fear-but-love.

Dying Minutes Action

And sure enough, their spirited attack paid dividends – hell, they even managed to win their own line-outs and steal 1 from the Springboks.

With minutes left and the All Blacks within 10 points of the Springboks, Dan Carter kicked from wide over on the left of the field placing the ball perfectly at the flag on far right of the field, where Richie McCaw literally stood waiting, picked it from the air and landed it in the corner with not a Bok in sight.

A move so brilliant, that as much as we hated it happening, the Springbok supporters had to applaud it for its sheer brilliance and flawless execusion.

With very few minutes remaining and the Springbok lead shrunk to only 3, the game became almost unbearable,  every second feeling like a minute, slowly ticking towards full time.  T All Blacks relentlessly pounded the Springbok defense, trying to punch a hole.  When the game time ran out the All Blacks had possession and in an all-or-nothing gamble Dan Carter tried to recreate the previous try, this time kicking from the far right of the field to the left.

2 metres from the Springbok try line 2 All Black players were ready. In slow motion the ball tumbled through the air. But luck was not on the All Black side and the ball went over the players head, just out of reach, and into touch.

The referee’s end-whistle was absolute bliss – the score fixed at 32-29 and the Springboks, bloody, but victorious and the Tri Nations 2009 champions.

Well done, Bokke!

Scored for the Springboks

• Fourie Du Preez – 5 pts (try);
• Jean De Villiers – 5 pts (try);
• Morne Styen – 13 pts (2 conversions, 2 penalties, 1 drop goal);
• Francois Steyn – 9 pts (3 penalties)

Scored for the All Blacks

• Sitiveni Sivivatu: 5 pts (try);
• Richie McCaw 5 pts (try);
• Daniel Carter 19 pts (2 conversions, 5 penalties);

With 1 games left in the 2009 Tri-Nations Tournament

Scoreboard:

Opportunities to score more points:

Fixtures:

Now all that remains is for the All Blacks to meet Australia in Wellington next week to see who will be the official loser of the 2009 Tri Nations.

Well, last night’s Tri Nations match between South Africa and Australia went very much unlike I expected it to in my blog post on Thursday.

Playing at the grounds in Brisbane where a few years ago the Springboks lost with a massive 0 – 49 against the Aussies, the Boks once against suffered a defeat, albeit with a much smaller margin this time.

Whatever conditions conspired against the Boks to have reduced them to the unorganised-on-the-back-foot rugby that they played last night, the Aussies had… well, a ball.

This loss now puts New Zealand a little closer to the Tri Nations title, albeit still with a slim chance.

Things are suddenly not looking so rosy for the Springboks, and it’s now not just a question of waltzing to the title anymore.  If they want to be crowned the winners of the Tri Nations Tournament and avoid being embarrassingly pipped to the post, the Boks will have to work for it. Hard.

With 2 games left in the 2009 Tri-Nations Tournament

Scoreboard:

Opportunities to score more points:

Fixtures:

So, as an update from my last post, here’s what can happen now:

• Australia are still sure losers, but ironically they could end up determining the winners of the Tri Nations tournament;
• New Zealand has a increasingly better looking chance of squeezing in a win if:
  1. they can win both their remaining games (4 x 2 = 8); and
  2. they can score 4 tries or more in each of those games (2 x 1 = 2); and
  3. they can prevent South Africa from scoring 4 tries; and
  4. they can ensure South Africa loses by more than 7 points;
  5. Australia managed to do 3 and 4 in their games last night, so it’s not impossible;
• South Africa, who still needs just 2 points to win the 2009 Tri-Nations Rugby Tournament, must
  1. win their game against New Zealand next week; or
  2. draw that game (but when last did you see a drawn rugby game?); or
  3. if they’re going to lose, score 4 tries in their last game; and
  4. lose by less than 7 points;

From being so sure on Thursday that the Boks were winners already, I’m now only cautiously optimistic.

Australia have redeemed themselves by handing the Boks their first loss. New Zealand will also love to get on the bandwagon so that they too can claim a defeat over the Springboks in this Tri Nations. And once they’ve beaten the Boks, they only have to beat Australia (again) to claim the trophy.

There will be blood (and if New Zealand succeeds in doing that, there will be tears too).