The Essence of the Vuvuzela

Hank Eso

hankeso@aol.com

Sunday 11 July 2010

The essence of vuvuzela is that it is team-neutral, nonpartisan and non-discriminatory. The vuvuzela is very democratic; it cheers for both teams and distracts both teams equally. Another benefit is that the vuvuzela drown out hecklers or opinionated tlevision and radio announcers.

Today, the one-month long and only truly global sports fiesta, the 2010 FIFA World Cup will end. It has been a jolly ride and an event full of surprises. There will be only one champion; either Spain or Holland. My bet is on Spain.

However, there will be far more winners than there are losers. All the other nations that participated in the event, but went home early or those like Germany and Uruguay, that exited on the eve of the finale are also winners. So too, is FIFA and the host country, South Africa.

Singularly, the FIFA World Cup attests to universality of humankind and offers a glimpse into commonality of interests and the possibility of peaceful co-existence among varying nationalities, even if for one month. What it all says, is that as people and nations, we can fight hard and come up winners or losers without violence, without blood letting or firing a shot. Soccer unites! Sports unite!!

The memories of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will linger well past the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. So too, will the iconic Zulu cheering tool, the vuvuzela (or lepatata), which is only matched in its sudden popularity and awesomeness by the Tsunami. I own one, which I consider priceless, not in terms of its actual cost, but in real terms, and what it represents. The vuvuzela, simply, is out of Africa.

Experiencing the drone like and swarming bee-buzzing sounding vuvuzela is simply awesome as it may be irritating to some. Encountering the vuvuzela on television does not cut it. You need to be in a capacity-filled stadium to grasp what this cheering instrument does as well as its overwhelming capacity and impact. The vuvuzela is influential!

Yet, the essence of vuvuzela is that it is team-neutral, non-partisan and non-discriminatory. The vuvuzela is very democratic; it cheers for both teams and distracts both teams equally. Another benefit is that the vuvuzela drown out hecklers or opinionated television and radio announcers.

Just as its users dominate stadiums, they also cheer for no one in particular, contrary to what has hitherto been the case. It ensures that no team feels or has the home advantage, merely because they have more national supporters in the stadium. Vuvuzela wielders cheer universally, thus creating an incessant buzz that some find enchanting and others distracting, intimidating and grossly irritating. This is why many campaigned for its ban but thank goodness, FIFA boss, Sepp Blatter, allowed reason to prevail. Those who tried to ban the vuvuzela, missed the point entirely. Just like the Brazilians added samba –both the tap-soccer skill set and the drums—to the beautiful game, the South Africans have banqueted the vuvuzela to the world. The vuv is here to stay!

As a first hand witness, I can attest that the vuvuzela has an abnormally high din, perhaps with some possible loss of hearing implications. Nonetheless, besides adding impetus to the carnival and convivial atmosphere of the game, the vuvuzela also drown out partisans and hecklers. Only two national fans –England and Australia managed --and only so in dire moments for their teams-- to raise sufficient vocal din to drown out and override the vuvuzela, intermittently. Unbeknown to many global TV watchers, the vuvuzela also created a hot by-product. Most fans in the stadiums including those using the vuvuzela wore earplugs. The number of earplugs sold was relatively proportional to the number of vuvuzela at every game. In economic terms, both items were good for the South African economy. So the health concerns were ameliorated, sort of.

As the hosts, South Africa and the entire Africa continent can say with pride, we may not have won the cup, but we gave the world a hitch-free, incident-free and successful World Cup and even threw in the vuvuzela, which will henceforth feature in many sporting events, the 2014 FIFA World Cup included. South Africa did well. They represented Africa well. Their hospitality and sporting spirit were ennobling. We thank them. However, it must be said that they also got immense direct and indirect support for various quarters; FIFA, fellow Africans and interestingly from the UK. Though not widely publicized, the UK took the added measure of deploying police officers at the various airports to pluck out known soccer hooligans just at the point when they were boarding the planes for South Africa. That was helpful, considering the way the England team performed.

The World Cup was not without its hiccups. Some officiating snafus were simply egregious, as were some dives. Intra-team bickering, mostly within some flailing European teams were all part of the game as was Suarez’s “hand of God” foul that put Ghana down. In all, Europe, however, did not lose its soccer soul, since it presented three of the four finalists.

Interestingly, there was poetic justice, or so it seems. In the dying minutes of the Ghana-Uruguay game, the very spot where Gyan Asamoah’s penalty struck was also the very spot where Diego Forlan’s last shot struck in the dying minutes of the Germany-Uruguay game. Coincidence? Maybe! The truth however, as both men will forever remember, is the maxim, “the difference between success and failure in football is often measured in inches”. Interestingly, neither man complained that the vuvuzela was responsible for their not scoring at that most critical moment.

On reflection, it is noteworthy that the big and the powerful nations all made their exit before the final point. That should give us pause. Still, if there is one theme that ought to be trumpeted with the vuvuzelas, it is that song, “We Are the Champions,” and it should apply to every participating team. After all, that is the essence of the nonpartisan, non-discriminating, all-embracing, and all-engulfing vuvuzela. Hail to the Vuv; Viva Africa!. We did it our way. Brazil here we come.

With neither anger nor partiality, until next time, keep the law, stay impartial, and observe closely.

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Hank Eso is a columnist for Kwenu.com. His observations on Nigerian, African and global politics and related issues, has appeared in various print media, journals and internet-based sites. 11 July 2010.

Email: hankeso@aol.com