Feel It: It Is Here

Blog By: KZ

“Feel It: It Is Here” is one of the slogans of the World Cup, and after being here just about 10 days, the intense and crazy madness of this tournament is not only felt, but forever embedded in our minds and hearts. I think aside from being able to be a spectator at one of the most highly acclaimed sporting events the world offers, what has been equally inspiring has been to experience the sense of pride and unity this tournament has given to South Africa and the entire continent of Africa. Another slogan that you see on most World Cup commercials is “Once in a Lifetime,” and this rings true for most of the people who have been involved in this tournament. South Africa is probably the only country in Africa that will be able to host an event like this. Unless other countries are able to strengthen their economic sectors, organizational systems and overall infrastructures, no country will be able to host something of this magnitude any time soon. For all the non-African residents, “Once in a Lifetime” also has great meaning. Take our entire group, for example; by the grace of God we all have been able to have the time and finances to take this great trip. Although we all talk about reconnecting in 2014 in Brazil for the next World Cup, the truth is, we will all be in different points in our lives and possibly have to factor in year-round jobs, spouses (who knows?!), finances and maybe even children (dear God!). So when reflecting on what this year’s World Cup means to Africa, as well as the impact it has on myself and the rest of the group, I think it’s pretty darn amazing that we are here and able to experience the madness and wonderfulness of this event.

Yesterday (June 26th), USA lost to Ghana. Myself, Aly, Jen, Blake and Willy sat for four hours glued to the TV in a Spur restaurant (which is like Red Robin back home). Although it was sad to see the US lose and end their time here in South Africa, there was something bittersweet about Ghana’s win. So, yes, the US lost and we won’t be able to cheer for them in any more games, but the flip side of it is that Ghana, Africa’s last remaining team, is now advancing to the quarter finals. I don’t think it is a lack of patriotism for why I feel OK with Ghana advancing, I think it is the realization of the bigger picture. Unfortunately, Bafana Bafana did not advance to Stage 2, but because Ghana did, all of Africa is behind them with full force. Africa is one step closer to winning the World Cup and to see the unity of this continent and the immense support they have for their last remaining team is incredible.

My experience here has been incredible. Can’t you tell? So far, I have been able to go to three games: Mexico vs. Uruguay, USA vs. Algeria and Honduras vs. Switzerland. Because all of our tickets were won in a lottery, we really didn’t have much choice when it came to games. But regardless of if the game was the best so far in the tournament (USA vs. Algeria) or, quite possibly, the worst (Honduras vs. Switzerland), my experience hasn’t been slighted. One of the best parts of the World Cup is meeting fans from all over the world. It was so fun at all of the games to come together with people and celebrate soccer. Rarely was there a case when rivalry got in the way or when fans turned ugly. On the day of my first game (June 22nd, Mexico vs. Uruguay), Aly and I decided to have a sign made with the hope that we would get on TV. Since I am from Hawaii and she has been living there for the past two years it was fitting that our sign read, “We Swam Here From Hawaii.” To enhance our sign and blatantly call more attention to ourselves we bought neon green snorkel gear and fins. When you walk into a soccer event wearing a snorkel mask and carrying a single fin you don’t get the most positive looks. But the instant you unroll a 4ft. by 4ft. sign that claims you swam to the game from Hawaii, people go nuts. In three games time, Aly and I have become instant celebrities and we like to say that we experienced not 15 minutes of fame, but 15 hours of fame(this includes game time and before and after tailgating). Making this sign was a genius idea because everyone has thought it was hilarious. I’m not going to toot our horns too much, but we’ve taken probably over 1000 pictures with Mexicans, Americans, Algerians, Hondurans and the Swiss, have appeared randomly in many people’s Facebook albums who we don’t know and we were filmed twice for South African TV!

One of the best experiences of the trip, and probably one of the top ten best experiences of my life, was being able to see the USA vs. Algeria game where in the 91st minute, my love (receding hairline/widow’s peak and all) Landon Donovan, scored the winning goal to advance the US to the next round. The game was an intense, back and forth brawl of close shots on goal, amazing saves and painful fouls (or good acting if you weren’t actually hurt). In the last minutes, US had so many shots on goal, but none of them were making it in the net. It was so frustrating, until we got the break of the tournament and scored in stoppage time. Aly and I were sitting next to each other and when Landon Donovan scored we, along with every other US fan, went nuts. Let me tell you, she and I were producing noises that I had no idea we could ever produce. I’ve always thought I had a mid to low sounding voice, but the pitch that I was getting would rival Mariah Carey’s highest notes. We jumped, we screamed, we waved our fins from side to side … so much that for the next two days I had extreme shoulder pain. After the game the group rode back from Pretoria to Johannesburg blaring one of the songs of the tournament, Shakira’s, “Waka Waka: This Time for Africa.” What a great slue of moments that day.

The past few days have been a whirlwind for every one of us. Aly and I headed off to Bloemfontain to watch Honduras vs. Switzerland. Jen, Blake, Willy and Jason went to Italy vs. Slovakia and Spain vs. Chile, and Danny, Andrew and Robin scalped tickets to yesterday’s heartbreaker USA vs. Ghana. In any case, win, loss or nil-nil, it’s been a fantastic ten days here. Today, we are heading to Cape Town. The van is doing well, minus the two speakers that were blown due to playing the Waka Waka too loudly. The next few days have a ton in store for us: wine and champagne tours, Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned, climbing Table Mountain, driving the beautiful coastal road called the Garden Route and most importantly, continuing to master the words and dance to the Waka Waka.

So until the next blog: FEEL IT.