I Cannot Wait For SA 2010

FIFA World Cups are peaks, the anticipation, and the brotherhood/sisterhood of man/woman, the endless stories, and late nights - depending on your latitude. The exhilaration is tangible and portent. We all wind ourselves up with pent up tension and have that ultimate release in the either exhilarating joy of victory or the anguish of defeat. However, on close analysis, we should not be too emotional about this event, not because of that dumb reductionist logic that "it is only 22 men chasing a piece of leather" but, there seem to be a trend here, a pattern, no surprises at the supremo event.

You see, World Cup iko na wenyewe (has its owners). Out of the 18 World Cup events have been held, 9 have been held in Europe, 7 in the Americas and one in any other location (South Korea/Japan). The trend has been such that if the event is held in Europe, Germany or Italy wins, with the exception of a few instances, where the host wins - England in '66 and France in '98. If the tournament is held in the Americas then Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay wins - yes Uruguay have won twice in the '30 and '50. Brazil has been the exception, wining in Sweden in '58 and in Korea in '02. Therefore, the trend is easy. If we play in Europe watch Germany and Italy and follow the hosts in the Euro Cup to see if there will be any surprises. If it is in the Americas, watch Brazil and Argentina. In addition, one final rule always watch Brazil.

However, enough of statistics, recently we witnessed an almost upset in this long established trend. The stage for this drama was Ellis Stadium in the land of Zuma and his marital quartet, on June 28th, 2009. On this day! Yes on this day! The novice Yanks placed their studded boots on the necks of the Samba Boys for a good 46 minutes with 2 fabulous and well deserved goals. It took Dunga's masterful restructuring of the tactics and the beast that is Luís Fabiano Clemente to bring this New World Order to a screeching halt. This was not the first warning shot that 2010 will be played on neutral ground. Egypt smoked Italy the 'World Champs' 1:0, Brazil looked very ordinary against Egypt and South Africa, managing only 4:3 and 1:0 respectively on the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

Therefore, you see why I am exited about the '10 World Cup. Fédération Internationale de Football Association's decision NOT to have this World Cup on steppes of Russia, the pusztas of Hungary, the South American pampas, or the prairies of North America, but on the grasslands of Mpumalanga and those of KwaZulu-Natal gives me HOPE and I see "A Change You Can Believe In". Therefore, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, and Cameroon you are on home ground. South Korea, Turkey, USA, the playing field is level. So as second tier teams go into the land of Madiba, let’s not seeing ourselves as 'grasshoppers in the eyes of the giants'. Let’s bring our A GAME!!!!!! WOOOO HOOO !!!!!!!

The Beautiful Game

I love Soccer! I have loved soccer since I was 6 years old, and possibly even before. I remember Argentina winning the World Cup in 78 with Mario Kempes, Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge and Futbol made in Germany, The Road to Wembly, Joe Masiga, Tobias Ocholla, and Micky Weche. Seared in my memory are Paulo Rossi in 82, Michelle Platini, Jean Tigana and Joel Bats verses Sócrates, Zico and Falcão, in 86 and who can forget Diego 'Armando' Maradona and the 'Hand of God' against England and Jose Luis Brown playing with a broken arm in the final against Germany in Mexico. And who can forget Roger Miller the man who invented the corner post dance................. Those were the days.

In those days the 'beautiful game' was not as it is today. We did not have the pubs with team merchandise on the wall, the ubiquitous Man -U jersey, or even players names on their jerseys. No Super Sport, cable or satellite TV. To know the game one had to work hard. You needed to read parts of the newspaper that no child dared read or sacrifice you afternoon and watch the black and white Football Made in Germany and play 'Spot the Ball" in the Standard News paper. The risks were even greater if you wanted to stay on top of the local scene - the periodic fight between the arch rivals Gor Mahia and Abaluhya FC (later AFC Leopards) were intense enough and tragically life was occasionally lost. These risks had a high payoff in my books. I was there when AFC won their 3rd EA club championship in a row 82-84. When Gor Mahia won the Africa Cup Winner's Cup with Peter Dawo's headers in 87 or the All African Games final where Kenya lost 1:0 to Egypt and we walked from Kasarani to Nairobi City Center. I was there for these moments and more. These were good times.

So this blog is a nostalgic tribute to football past and present and the good feeling that a good game generates or the lump in the throat when an underdog looses after a remarkable Cinderella story in the World Cup. Now I have my biases in club football - and who does not -these will be evident as we go along, however I am looking forward to fun and healthy 'online hooliganism'. So join me in this adventure in The Beautiful Game.

Additional writers wanted.