It won't be long before the vuvuzela becomes an instrument relegated to pop-culture history, and frankly good riddance.
The world cup of football (soccer for everyone west of Ireland) is nearing its finale and I confess I am feeling somewhat indifferent.
It's a bit unfair to South Africa who have proven to be competent and gracious hosts. The nation has demonstrated how far it has risen from the gloom of its inglorious history. Audiences have marveled at the grand stadiums built to showcase the world's football talent. We have been treated to scenes of majestic landscapes representing much of the contrast and beauty of the African continent, and of course the pride and passion of its people.
The face of international football has been less than stellar. In the early going, many matches were low scoring affairs, making the beautiful game a full 90 minutes of dullsville. Players and coaches were blaming the ball, which supplier Adidas evidently has the exclusive rights to produce. For whatever reason, whenever there is a huge football event, Adidas creates a new ball. Why? Well, one would presume to improve the game, but more likely its a marketing scam to sell product. Many have felt this world cup iteration was too unpredictable. As it turns out only a few nations had access to the ball prior to the World Cup, due to a sponsorship deal Germany was one of them.
Of course blaming the ball is just another way of distracting people from the fact that some teams suffered some fairly impressive internal meltdowns. England (sorry mates) and Italy (sorry amicos) did not perform as advertised. But nothing compares to the French team folding like a cheap lawn chair. France's star striker Nicolas Anelka got into a nasty spat with his coach Raymond Domenech after losing 2-0 to Mexico. This led to Anelka being kicked off the squad. The team refused to show up for practice in protest. It was an unmitigated disaster for a team that essentially cheated its way into the world cup (see Thierry Henry's uncalled handball that eliminated Ireland in a World Cup qualifier).
The officiating has also been spectacularly bad. Just ask the American and English teams. Could England have defeated Germany after Frank Lampard's clear goal (witnessed by a oobazillion people worldwide) was not acknowledged? Personally I still think Germany would have handed England their asses, but still. Hello FIFA? It's the 21st century calling, we can see every one of your dumb-ass missed calls in crystal clear high definition. Would you consider looking at what actually happened rather than go with the ref checking out the blond in the first row?
Then there has been the time-honoured tradition of elite athletes acting like they'd been shot a point-blank range with an assault rifle every time an opposing player so much as brushes his jersey. Really? Has the world not figured out this cheap little melodrama? In the NHL we call it diving and players have to park their lying, sorry arses on a pine bench.
Sigh. I'm actually a fan of football (yes, I'm still talking about soccer), but there hasn't been much about this world cup that has inspired me. Yes, there have been a few good matches. Just not enough to warrant the hype or to allay my discontent over bad calls, bad behaviour and bad acting.
I think FIFA has its work cut out for itself after this world cup, because the game on the pitch has taken a big credibility hit. It's wishful thinking because the organization knows that as long as there is a planet filled with football-mad fans content with the status-quo, why bother?
As for me, well I'm ready for some football. The CFL kind.
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