Vuvuzela – Having an Earful!
What will be be the most talked and discussed topic of the 2010 World Cup? Is it going to be Lionel Messi or Wayne Rooney? Will it be the English WAGS? Will it be more refereeing controversies? No. It will be the vuvuzela – a long plastic horn which makes one hell of a noise when blown.
The name is derived from the Zulu language where vuvu means ‘loud noise’, which is exactly what you have in a stadium where a thousand vuvuzelas are blown at the same time.
The vuvuzela issue came to light when South Africa hosted the recent 2009 Confederations Cup. The Cup is seen as a World Cup warm-up for the host country, but the vuvuzelas stole the show. Originally FIFA wanted to ban the vuvuzela – but not due to fear of noise pollution. Instead they were concerned that the instrument could be used as a weapon or to be hijacked for commercial purposes.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter wanted the vuvuzela to be part of the 2010 Football World Cup and opposed the ban. Commentators, coaches and players have spoken out against the vuvuzela but it is going to be a part of South Africa's World Cup.
Google Trends shows an absolutely massive spike for the term vuvuzela in June 2009. It then dropped and has been steadily rising since March. Now, with the World Cup just days away, the vuvuzela is ready to make its mark. In time, when people look back at the 2010 World Cup, it it is likely that it will be the humble vuvuzela that will evoke the strongest memories.
As Sepp Blatter said, the vuvuzela is part of the African experience and having the World Cup in that part of the world.
- TAGS:
- Soccer
- vuvuzela
- world cup soccer
