Soccer makes us proud
2010-07-08
Mignon Laubscher
THE long awaited World Cup tournament is about to come to an end and South Africans can walk away with pride, having proved to the rest of the world that we are capable of hosting an event of this magnitude. This is the view of a number of local residents recently interviewed. Anton Mostert, a local student, is glad that the World Cup is bringing foreigners to South Africa and showing them that “we’re not as barbaric as they think”. “I spoke to some Americans who asked me where the wild animals were!” Samantha Law is happy that the country has united behind the event, overcoming all differences. “This is what makes the World Cup such a spectacular event in our country - the fact that we realise that we have one thing in common: the fact that we are all South Africans.” An excited Pumla Thompson says she can feel the soccer spirit: “I can feel it - it is here!”. She is very proud of the successful tournament and its unifying force. Jarrod Allies hopes that the spirit of the 2010 World Cup never ends: “The sense of togetherness is amazing and I hope it can stay this way.” Charlie Meyer is less optimistic. He fears that, although the World Cup has united the country, we are likely to drift apart again. The favourite team amongst the people interviewed by Paarl Post was Brazil, although they were conquered by the team from the Netherlands on Saturday. Ulrich Milongui, a security guard originally from the Congo, says that he is behind all African teams, but knows Germany will win the World Cup. Keegan Smith was less certain: “Soccer is an unpredictable sport, any team can beat any team at any given time.” Dustin Scott is not so impressed by play during the tournament. He believes that soccer has become too commercial and that the ethics of the game have gone out the window. “The teams doing well in the World Cup are the teams playing as a team and not as individuals.” Rugby fans Christie van der Merwe and Marius van Zyl admitted that the soccer bug had really bitten them. Marius confessed, “When there’s soccer and rugby at the same time, I now channel hop between the two sports.” Stormey Abrahams has never really been a soccer fan, but has come to like the sport because of the World Cup and now watches all the matches she can. Chris Wood was less enthusiastic: “I never really liked soccer. Every time a player gets nudged, he falls dramatically and screams in agony to elicit a penalty for a foul. If you’re really that fragile, sport isn’t for you.” Most people interviewed by the Paarl Post were happy with Bafana Bafana’s performance in the World Cup, although some feel that they should have done better. “No-one expected Bafana to get far, although we hoped for it. You can see they really tried - a year ago they could hardly beat a team. They can only get better,” says Mishka Fledermaus, a student. Marlon Sobotker, a manager at a local store, feels that Bafana didn’t utilise the best team available: “There are real stars in Bafana Bafana but I’m not sure everyone in the team should be there.” Eric Slabbert said the team selected performed as well as they could: “But South Africa should improve on the development of soccer.” Ebrahim Nackerdien was impressed when Bafana Bafana beat France, considered one of the top teams. And Kenneth Williams insists that Bafana will always be his number one team: “I’m proud to wear my South African T-shirt.” Whether you think soccer is full of drama queens or the ultimate warrior sport there’s one question on everyone’s mind, who will win the World Cup?
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