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 !!!!!!!