African Odyssey: Report 5 - The Dream Weekend

Sometimes, the planets align, the universe is calm, and the Milky Way stops rotating just long enough for everything to be just right.

In the next three days, the soccer gods have shined on me. This weekend will be my equivalent of soccer nirvana.

Step 1: Thanks to Joe "Bird" Freeman, who I had not seen since my days at Yale, I am in Durban, coastal south Africa, preparing for the Portugal vs. Brazil match this afternoon. Joe provided the ride, the hotel room, and the ticket to the game. So to Joe I say, obviously, a big "You Rule." All I had to do was help out with driving! And to Andy Slater, who cancelled on the WC 2010 trip and left Joe with an extra ticket, a big thank you, also!

Step 2: Tomorrow, at 6 am, Joe and I will wake up and drive north 8 hours, to rustenburg for the USA vs. Ghana match. For the 4 game tickets, my own purchase, I thank US Soccer.
Step 3: The cycle is complete on Sunday, when Chris Bradford and I head out to Bloemfontein, four hours from Joburg, for the England vs. Germany grudge match. Chris, I thank you for the ticket and the ride, this is going to a classic European match.

Three of the best soccer matches I'll ever see, all in three days. It's going to be exhausting, but wow, what can I say. WC 2010 is by far exceeding all expectations. At this point, I might as well stop going to soccer games because it'll all be downhill from here on out, the rest of my life.

One more time, let's hear it: Go USA!

African Odyssey: Report 4 - Adios, Papa

Today, my father Carroll will make his way home to Texas, so I send him home with best wishes and the attached photos.

We have had a great time here. We have traveled to the four corners of the nation, from zulu hut to cape town bay. And as two Texans, you know that wherever we go, when we leave, everyone who cares to listen knows we are from Texas. A nation, a state, and a state of mind.

Dad has been here to share lots of great conversation, experiences, and cultural exchanges. He takes the initiative to talk to literally everyone, and this really does give you a great insight into the psyche of the nation. From train engineer to school teacher, farmer to lawyer, Afrikaaner to English, rich to poor, we have heard from everyone. And in every situation, he ends the conversation with his million dollar question, "Are you optimistic about the future of South Africa?". We have gotten only one very negative response, and about 57 positive answers, which bodes well for everyone here.

So dad, I ask you, upon your return to the United States, are you optimistic about the future of South Africa?

Matthew-

African Odyssey: Report 3

June 23, 2010

As Gameday 3 arrive for the teams, the very real prospect of either win or go home sets in. The French, the North Koreans, and others have already experienced this bitter taste.

The South Africans, despite having little chance to move on in the tournament, shifted their focus from advancing to merely playing well and giving their nation something to be proud of. Their opponent, the French, did exactly the opposite. Thus, France returns on a long trip home with glum faces - as usual for the French, I suppose. The South Africans, on the other hand, are happy and content with their effort, the score, and the rest of the cup to come. Ahhh, the joy of perspective. This morning all of South Africa awoke to sign of "Well done, boys" and "A great ending!". Their team's fine display gave them something to cheer about, and this will keep the vuvuzelas blowing and the fans showing up for the remaining games, which only get better with time as the tournament progresses. Hooray! There is nothin woes than a disinterested host nation.
And so, the South Africans go about finding their new team to root for the remaining two weeks. Many are choosing Argentina for their attacking style so far in the tourney. Many choose Brazil, because they are Brazil (soccer's version of the Lakers or Yankees, except nobody hates them). Many Afrikaans choose the Ditch, given their Dutch heritage. Many English SAers will inevitably support England (despite their play, which has been anemic).

I will be pulling for the United States to become the adopted team of the people. After all, on soccer we are a good underdog. We have struggled to come back and get ties in our first two games. And today we can win the hearts of many a fan with a good effort. Many here are already cheering for us - I know because they tell me so.

Win, and we're through. Lose, and we're out. Tie, and all bets are off. Folks, the knockout rounds have officiallly begun for the USA. We are four wins from the World Cup finals. Frankly, if we can't beat Algeria, we don't deserve to move on past the group stage.

This is must see tv. And, look for the Texas flag, now hoisted on a pole, in the USA section.

That's me - I've got the only one!

Matthew-

African Odyssey: Report 2

June 18, 2010

World Cup Fever has officially hit South Africa. There is nothing you can say except that the World Cup is everywhere, and it hopes to unite the nation. As I arrived at OR Tambo Int'l Airport last Wednesday, I was greeted by a mariachi band, playing live in the airport lobby, as well as greeters, much like you see at Walmart. The entire airport, nee the whole nation, is dressed up nice with large welcome posters and the obligatory Coca Cola ads.

And if there is one thing that says South Africa 2010 like nothing else, it's the vuvuzela. As my taxi sped down the newly completed highway from the airport towards town, I was greeted by mobs of thousands, dressed up in various outfits and lining the roads, blowing their own horns. What an odd sight, people literally just standing on freeway overpasses, exit ramps, and street corners all dressed up and blowing the vuvu. Had they nothing better to do? Some, I suspect, did not. Only later did I come to learn that 12:00 noon, Wednesday June 9th was National Blow Your Horn To Support Bafana Bafana (the South African team) Day. So it wasn't all just for me...

The next morning, my first in South Africa, I was awakened by the sound of a vuvuzela at 5 in the morning. I kid you not. Believe the hype.

Further, the hopes of South Africa rest rather firmly on this event. For anyone who has seen the movie Invictus, the parallels are obvious. In 1995, just five years after the end of aparteid and one year after the first free and open elections, newly elected President Nelson Mandela got the nation behind the Rugby World Cup. South Africa won the tournament, and fears of civil war were quieted.

Now, in 2010, the Soccer World Cup seeks to do nothing less than unite the fractured nation and races to a new level. Fiveteen years after the end of white rule, the decendants of British, Dutch, and Africans almost uniformly seem to want to move on past race, and start worrying about the business of making all of South Africa a better place. Their may be deep seeded stereotypes or racism, but every South African you meet certainly says all the right things.

As one very nice White South African told us, "Just like they supported our rugby, we're going to support their soccer." He didn't mean it in a racist or negative way - in South Africa, rugby is a traditionally a white sport, and soccer a black sport. And if you are measuring progress in numbers, the SA Springboks rugby team, ranked first in the world, now regularly starts six black players, up from only one in 1995.

Another great benefit of being at the World Cup is that people from around the globe are here. The Dutch in their orange. Every bandwagon follower in Brazil's yellow. The English in their pale white.

One Mexican man, interviewed at the airport by MTV, was dressed in the traditional Mexican peasant garb of a pancho and sandals. He reported to the interviewer that he had sold all of his earthly possessions to fly to South Africa and watch his beloved TriColores team. He had no idea where he was staying or how to get into games, but if there is any justice in this world, he will be just fine.

Finally, at the USA vs England game in Rustenburg, I saw a new kind of fan. The American fan. Dressed as Rocky, draped in the American Flag from Rocky 3, where he fights the evil Soviet, Ivan Drago. In costume as American icons Abe Lincoln and Ben Franklin, not Britney Spears or Michael Jackson. Wearing a Davy Crockett coonskin cap. These are not soccer moms. They are a new breed of soccer fan from the USA. Patriotic as you can be, while supporting the world's game, soccer. And in numbers ten times more than at Germany in 2006. They make me proud. Proud to be an American, and proud to cheer for our nation.

So today i say: Go USA!

Matthew-

African Odyssey: Report 1

June 15th, 2010

Johannesburg, South Africa, it turns out, is very similar to how you might see it portrayed in the movie Tsotsi. A large, sprawling town not entirely different from Houston, Texas, with some added hills and less vegetation. Perhaps like a less glamourous LA. At any rate, it is a car city. It takes 45 minutes of driving on highways and major roads to get from the airport to almost any destination - at a distance of over 10 miles. Shopping streets and districts are scarce, with indoor shopping malls preferred for security reasons.

The neighborhoods are nice - with trees, greenery, and avenues easy for driving. However, one thing is very different from Houston or LA. Growing up in Houston, our family never locked our door when home. If we went out of town, we would lock the front door, but leave the side door open. Any theif wishing entry had only to brave our german shepard dog, Ziggy.

However, in Johannesburg, things are different. To gain entry into my friend Chris's house, you have to pass through a minimum of 4 separate locked doors. First, there is the gate. Then, inside the gate, 4 feet later, a heavy, thick wood security door. This gets you into the courtyard. Once there, you now have another metal gated door, which gets you to the actual door to the home. 4 different keys to get you into the living room. And this is in a nice neighborhood. If Chris were to get scared on night, he could also lock the gate and door with access to the sleeping quarters of the house, and then additionally lock the gate and door with access to the master bedroom. The master of the house, therefore, would be separated by 8 keys and locks from the street. Oh, and there also is a secutiry system who advertised prominently on the door "Armed Response Guaranteed."

While the locks provide security, they also make leaving the house a lengthy proposition. Going to the corner store? Add 5 minutes for leaving the house unlocking and locking, as well as 5 minutes for getting back in. As safe as this makes one feel, it also makes one feel quite isolated from whatever may be going on outside.

However, this caution seems merited. On my first night out in Johannesburg, at the Fifa Opening Concert featuring Shakira, I had my new South African cell phone promptly stolen out of my pocket. The next night, a friend had her purse stolen while at a bar. And two days later, in today's paper, a twelve year old who writes a weekly World Cup article mentioned that while at his first World Cup match with his father, his father's cell phone was stolen! It appears I am not the only one with the problem!

This episode infuriated me because in a lifetime of traveling the world, I had maintained a perfect record of never being stolen from. I did, however, manage to catch the thief red handed, but only after he had managed to pass my phone to a friend. This led to an intersting episode in the Orlando Pirates Stadium Police Office, where racial relations were obvious and strained (more on this in future episodes). While a fascinating cultural experience, I somehow think I would have enjoyed watching Shakira's hips lie than talk to a police officer whose "Trainee" badge did not inspire confidence in me.

South Africans, when told of the episode, all replied in the same way: only a foreginer would bother reporting such a routine incident to the police.

Matthew-