Vuvuzela South Africa

We knew the Vuvuzela would spread around the world. Now YouTube- has got a Vuvuzela button.

The little football shaped button is located at the bottom of the image on the right side, and guess what it does – if you click it it produces the beautiful noise of the beautiful game - that’s right the bzzzz-zz of vuvuzelas.

For those who haven’t been following the 2010 World Cup and don’t yet know what a vuvuzela is – it is a meter long plastic horn that South African soccer fans blow at games. Well not only South Africans’ the whole world is blowing vuvuzelas. You can buy a vuvuzela online at many websites. You can even buy a vuvuzela at Amazon.com

You can get a virtual vuvuzela for your iPhone or just blow a virtual vuvuzela online.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Germany supporter Kevin Joo celebrated his birthday on Tuesday by blowing his vuvuzela and cheering his heart out as the Germany knocked four past a hapless Australian team. Photograph by Matthew Savides

A couple of months ago I wrote an article predicting that the vuvuzela would become the icon of the 2010 World Cup … little did I know!

This was round about the time we had a bit of a too and fro about the actual origins and ownership of the vuvuzela.

I have always enjoyed going to football matches with my vuvzela and I collect them, as I’ve mentioned. We had a few moans during the 2009 Confederations Cup, where they were out in full force, but I don’t think we ever anticipated this barrage of hatred, ridicule, xenophobia, racism and abuse.

Singing in the Stadiums

If people want to sing in the stadiums, nothing is stopping them, but it looks to me as if they are all blowing vuvuzelas – and I’m not talking about South Africans.  We have only played in two matches – and the true South African Soccer fans can’t afford tickets to World cup matches – they watch them at home or at fan parks or in tavern or shebeens in the townships where nobody minds if they blow their vuvuzelas.

The problem with the World Cup and the allocation of tickets in that fans are very seldom seated in a block, they are dispersed around huge stadiums, so it isn’t really easy to get a song going. Even the national anthems one can hardly hear.

So it is very much a case of logistics as well.

Vuvuzela Apps and Stuff

What is amusing me is all the Internet stuff that is happening. For those who don’t have time of logistics to go out and buy a vuvuzela, I’ve found another page www.zela.it . Take a look. push the button and you’;ll have the sound of vuvuzelas with you all the time.

You can also Vuvuzela-ize any site on the web with Vuvuzela Time. This means you won’t ever have to be without the vuvuzela sound at your desktop again. And you can browse the web as if you are at the 2010 World Cup without even having to go out and buying a vuvuzela.

Then there is the Vuvuzela for iPhone that is being downloaded all over the world.

Block the Noise Out

South African soccer fans who want to watch vuvuzela free football can do it as easily as 1.2.3 (I read this in last weeks Daily News)

• Enter sound settings for your TV and fine the equaliser
• Drop the 300Hz channel and raise adjacent channels
• Save as a custom set up (if you can)

And for UK fans, the BBC is investigating whether it can transmit a Vuvuzela-free” version of the BBC coverage.

But you know, like it of hate it, the vuvuzela is here to stay.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Well here is good news for the Vuvuzela fans, you can now tune in to Radio Vuvuzela and Vaseline will help you deal with Vuvuzela lips.

Vuvuzela.fm is a website where you can go in between matches to listen to the sweet sound of the vuvuzela.

How to Deal with Vuvuzela Lips

The weather and the hectic pace of the 2010 World Cup is also producing a new phenomena – Vuvuzela lips. Just ask those peeps who have been blowing their vuvus solidly for the past five days.

I saw some post on Twitter: “Who needs Botox when you’ve got a Vuvuzela!”

I read an article in Durban’s Daily News yesterday where they interviewed Pringle Bay Musician Dr Bruce Copley who has been teaching a group of Muizenberg High School Pupils to make music with the vuvuzela. He said force was needed to blow the vuvuzela and this could puff up your lips

“You have to buzz your lips to create the sound”, he said.

Copley’s advice was to use a bit of Vaseline of baby oil before blowing the Vuvuzela to reduce friction and to keep something cool, like a cooldrink  to put against the lips to reduce the swelling afterwards.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Of course the vuvuzela must stay. We started out this long hard 2010 World Cup journey with the vuvuzela and now why should we dump it because it  offends European ears?

It is true, most of the people who are unhappy, freaked, offended, furious – whatever about the vuvuzela are white and are European. The South Africans who complain about it also trend to the paler complexions – and they aren’t real soccer fans.

True South African Football  Supporters

Ask the true South African soccer supporters who go to their team’s matches week after week what they think about the vuvuzela … I believe they are the real custodians of soccer in South Africa.

I have watched matches in stadiums, including Bafana Bafana matches and I’ve enjoyed the experience. I watch the matches on television and I simply tune out the buzz of the vuvuz in the background.

One of the advantages we have here in South Africa of living in a multi-cultural society is that we have to learn to live with and respect customs, cultures and traditions of others.

Europe isn’t doing very well at the moment on the human rights front when we think of the right wing swing in the recent Dutch elections, the headscarf issues in France, the Neo Nazis in Germany.

Inability to Accept Differentness

I believe the vuvuzela issue is exactly the same. People with an inability to accept anything that is different- that doesn’t slot into their paradigm.

I have seen the most horrendous blogposts and tweets with racists remarks and hate speech against South Africa and South Africans all because people don’t like vuvuzelas.

Colonial and Patronising Attitude

I also sense a colonial and patronising attitude – like these people from Europe, especially,  believe that we still need to do things their way to be acceptable.  And they really think that right now while the tournament is underway they will be able to persuade FIFA to ban vuvuzelas from the matches…

Danny Jordaan – Vuvuzela Statement

And now I see that BBC Sport has sort of kind of twisted Danny Jordaan’s words around a bit – he has always said that vuvus would be banned from stadiums if they were used as weapons or landed on the pitch (I’m just hoping agitators don’t take this as an invitation)  anyway this statement seem to have been spun into World Cup 2010: South Africa ponders Vuvuzela Ban

I love Vuvuzelas

OK I’ll confess – I love vuvuzelas. I have about 20. All different colours and I enjoy giving them to friends, especially to the children of my friends.

At the moment my best thing it to lean out of my window and blow my vuvuzela. I get two or three or four answering paarps from somewhere in the neigbourhood – and that is just so cool. Ayoba!

Popularity: 20% [?]

Join in the 2010 World Cup fun and get your Vuvuzela for iPhone.

Virtual Vuvuzela

This virtual vuvuzela will make you imagine you are in a crowd of passionate African football fans, cheering their team and celebrating the beautiful game. So download your free Vuvuzela 2010 the only vuvuzela app for the iPod Touch and iPhone.

There is a warning, though, the use of the 2010 Vuvuzela for iPhone could just become addictive.

Popularity: 9% [?]