Ghana 1-0 Serbia
Now THAT’s what a World Cup game should be like. I got three hours of sleep after the US-England Rustenburg debacle, and I was up and on my way just a little more than five hours after arriving back to my guest house. But after a few issues with the company arranging the shuttle service (and here is a helpful hint to white South Africans: It probably does not bolster your case to be complaining about the difficulties “the blacks” have in “getting things done” at the very same time when you are lost in your own home city and cannot manage to connect with the other shuttle.) we were on our way to Pretoria.
Everything that was nightmarish about the night before was perfect on the way to Loftus Versfeld, the venerable home of the Blue Bulls rugby team (which just won the Super 14 championship). The crowd was diverse and impassioned. The Ghanaians in particular came to party, to have fun, in full sporting colors, and, they hoped, to watch their Black Stars defeat a tough Serbia team. But the Serbians too were kitted out. It was everything I envisioned about the World Cup when I put in my bid for tickets a few months ago.
Furthermore, yesterday proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the local fans are going to support the African teams as their own. Those not dressed in the red, gold, and black of Ghana wore Bafana Bafana’s green and gold, but they were there to support the West Africans. When Ghana converted a penalty kick to score the game’s only goal Loftus exploded and rapturous dancing and singing and cheering and laughing. For the overwhelming majority, pure joy reigned.
On the procession back to the Park and Walk — signs were everywhere and hundreds of workers were there to help with a smile and with clear directions, unlike the night before when there were few workers to be seen and those who could be found were as clueless as those they advised — the dancing and singing continued. All along the way people had set up stands selling fish and chips here, boerewors there, burgers somewhere else, with plentiful coffee and hot chocolate to stave off the winter chill that very few were feeling in the wake of such a glorious day.
That is what the World Cup is all about.
