Bafana Bafana!

March 23^rd

On Saturday the 23^rd, a bunch of us met up in Cape Town to attend a soccer game in the stadium built for the World Cup.  I’ve seen the stadium several times when I’ve been in Cape Town, but it was cool to see the building up close.  It’s a beautiful building ascetically and the entire atmosphere (the people, the excitement, the sounds, everything) was super exciting.  I went later in the day with Neil, Amanda and Daniel and we met up with a bunch of other international students.  We took the train from Stellenbosch and walked from the train station to the stadium which was about a 30 minute walk.  We had brought dinner with us and we ate on some grass we found in a park on the way.  There were tons of people out and about, many of them wearing yellow and green (the colors of the team) and other South African garb.  On our way, we passed vendors selling all kinds of soccer related paraphernalia.  I ended up getting a jersey with Amanda to show support for “our” team and Neil got a vuvuzela.  We heard this noise so many times even before we got into the stadium.  People were just blowing them in the streets on their way to game.  At the game, they made a constant buzzing in the background.

We ended up having great seats and were maybe 15ish rows away from the field, pretty near one of the goals.  I don’t really know anything about soccer, so I’m not entirely sure if it was a good game or not, but South Africa won 2 to 0, so I’m guessing it was pretty good.  Daniel explained some of the rules to me while we were watching, but I don’t really remember what he said.  What was really great was people watching.  There were huge groups of supporters wearing all sorts of crazy attire in support of Bafana Bafana (the nickname given to the South African national team).  Bafana Bafana means “go boys go boys” in Zulu.  It came from the 1993 game against Cameroon when South Africa was on the verge of beating them and the fans starting shouting “Bafana Bafana” and the name stuck.  The other thing that was interesting was that we, as international students, were some of the only white people in the entire stadium.  Although the team is comprised of all kinds of people (white, black…), there still seems to be a idea that soccer the the sport for black people and rugby is the sport for white people.  Although Apartheid ended around 20 years ago, I have been able to witness instances such as this that seems to point to continued racial division.

The game was great fun.  There was so much energy and excitement.  I think the game we attended was a big deal (if they won, then they went on to something, but I have no idea what) so I think the stands were extra enthsiastic.  One of the coolest parts of the night was at the very beginning of the game, when they played the South African National Anthem and we were all able to sing along to some parts of it.  I don’t know about the other people I was with, but it was a special moment to realize how much at home I felt in South Africa and how much I had grown to love the country.  We spent the game cheering and yelling, being obnoxious with the vuvuzela and just having a great time!

After the game, we had arranged with a company for them to take us back to Stellenbosch in a van, but the van wasn’t big enough for all of us, so I stayed back with 5 others and waited for another van.  But the van was taking forever, so we ended up hailing a taxi and squeezing five of us in the back seat and one person in the front.  It’s amazing how crazy the driving is here and how many people don’t follow the rules we have back in America.  People sit in the backs of trucks all the time on the highway, and the driver allowed us to squeeze so many people into a car.  There are so many things people do on the road that wouldn’t fly back in the States.  But, we were so packed into the backseat that even if we crashed, I don’t think we were going anywhere.  It was a rather nice ride home all snuggled together though!

Enjoy the photos!!!

This group of supports was the best.  They were on their feet singing, dancing, shouting and just having an all around good time for the entire time we were there.  It was tempting to join their party, but we didn't.  They just looked like they were having the time of their lives and we were all jealous of how much fun they were having.

Neil, Amanda, Daniel and I

After the first half, several marching bands circled around the field playing some pretty jazzy music.

A good view of the building.  I didn't take a picture of the stadium of the outside, but oh well.  I can always steal one from Google.

A good view of the stands.

Although the stands were entirely full, there were still so many people there.  It was the biggest sporting event that I have ever been to in my life which added to the overall excitement.