I’ve been at a B&B in Joburg that did not have internet access, so forgive the retrospective posting: I stayed up all night to watch the Celtics fall ignominiously to the Lakers, and went straight to the airport. My planned car hire showed up 75 minutes late to Lanseria airport (which purports to be a […]
Cape Town has proven to be an interesting case study for the success of the World Cup in South Africa. Cape Town is, after all, the postcard image that South Africa sells to the world, a beautiful tableau wedged between Table Mountain and the sea. Cape Town and the Western Cape is a much easier […]
In note form because, well, I wrote it in note form: Out in Cape Town. Went to a place called “Mexican Shabeen Bar.” Big crowd, seems engaged. Huge Bafana fans. Drinking. Uruguay scores. Ugh. But Wow!: That was a blast. We keep holding them in the midfield. We keep getting called for fouls. Continue to […]
No folderol. No big celebrations. No nationalism. This is the South Africa I know. As many of you are aware, my biggest worry about this trip has always been being treated like a tourist, and thus being condescended to like a tourist. But today I just was able to hang out at my friend’s house […]
Today is a travel day. I am moving from the northern suburb of Sandton (my hosts at my B+B were fantastic — they even gave me a bottle of wine last night and we watched Germany’s blistering of Australia in their living room) to glorious Cape Town, where I will be staying with my good […]
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 […]
As most of you who read this blog regularly know, I have been shamelessly bullish on the prospects of South Africa succeeding in hosting a wonderful World Cup that will bring glory to the nation. But I also knew all along that there would be hiccups. The England-US game on Saturday, great as it was […]
Let’s see if I can get caught up after several days without internet: So, what were the odds that my plane from Addis Ababa would be delayed coming to Johannesburg on the morning that the World Cup kicked off? Pretty good as it turned out. The departure lounge was full of a whole lot of […]
I always make the mistake of assuming that internet access will be automatic in South Africa. But of course universal access is not true here any more than it is when I visit my Dad in rural New Hampshire. I am out of contact now, but you can follow my musings on Twitter at @dcatafrica, […]
I really wish I could say something smart and insightful about Addis Ababa. But when you only have 14 hours in a city, and when 12 or more of those hours are spent in your hotel complex (the Hilton Addis Ababa) that is more isolated (but also nicer) than advertised, anything you have to say […]
I have had no interest whatsoever in Twitter. But for reasons that have to do wholly with the fact that someone from a fairly major newspaper saw my FPA writing and thought it might help elevate my profile (and get them watching, they strongly implied) you can now follow me: @dcatafrica — I have no […]
Group G, projected order of finish (top two, in bold, to advance): Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Honduras. Comments: Just about everyone who is not choosing Brazil to win it all is taking Spain, and it’s not a bad guess, though La Furia Roja have a history of coming up short on the big stage. Still, they […]
Group G, projected order of finish (top two, in bold, to advance): Brazil, C’ote d’Ivoire, Portugal, North Korea. Comments: Brazil moves on, of course. As in just about everyplace else in the world, Brazil, is the second favorite international team of most South African soccer fans. This World Cup might mark and exception as fans […]
Group F, projected order of finish (top two, in bold, to advance): Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia, New Zealand. Comments: Ok, let’s just etch Italy in stone into the second round. In this anti-Group of Death the Italians, who are always in the running to win it all, will cruise. Similarly, let’s just etch New Zealand in stone […]
Over at SB Nation Spencer Hall has a great paean to the World Cup that is made all the better by the fact that it is cynical and snide and sarcastic but still in the end heartfelt and true.