I seem to be constantly humming the K’naan Waving Flag song (that or Waka Waka), and I have a date with an American who fell on my foot on Saturday – yup, World Cup feVAH is here my friends, and I for one am loving it!
Friday saw the kick off of the SWC, and with no work done all day (not to mention an hour long power cut on Kloof Street) we finally got out at 1pm. Holly met me outside my office, and after a quick carbo load at Nandos we headed down to Long Steet. The vibe was incredible, fans everywhere, vuvus going non stop, loads of happy people, bars and balconies overloaded… such a vibe. We got to Neighbourhood, where we had luckily gotten a private room at the back (thanks to my lovely bosses!). The rest of the gang from work rocked up with assorted buddies, then Blade rolled up, and while we did have some gate crashers, it only added to the vibe.
private room @ hood
After a drink or two, we watched the opening ceremony, which had me clapping in delight – really just blew me away, whatever the haters want to say. Every time Tutu came on, the entire building cheered, and much laughter was had when R Kelly came on too. The whole thing was so Ayoba and South African, I loved it!
the balcony party gets underway
Meanwhile on the balcony, a massive party was going down – there was impromptu drumming an a vuvuzela band blowing in time to the drums, much shoza loza and national anthem singing, a huge deal of foot stamping and jumping – so much that the balcony was shaking! The back bar was the perfect place to get in on the action outside and still see the TV. Once the game started for realz, we squeezed back inside to watch Bafana defend their asses off. I will admit sheepishly that we *may* have been outside drinking during the second half – but I watched bits through the door. Also, with huge queues for the ladies bathroom, we also got to watch on the big screen in the main dining area.
long street gees!
By the time the game had drawn 1:1, the balcony was where it was all going down. Tequila was had, vuvuzela’s were blown, and down on Long Street, the gees was off the charts. Fans flooded the street from the top to the bottom, with South Africans, French, Nigerian and many others joining the action on the street. At one point a little boy did an awesome little soccer presentation with his ball, with other fans joining in. The atmosphere was so amazing, with no bad vibes at all – just incredible happiness and GEES!
nigerian fan procession
One of my favourite bits was the procession of Nigerian fans, who had a traditional witch doctor type with them, plus drums and dancing and the whole shebang. Watching them coming down Long just took my breath away, it was incredible to see! They stopped outside for a while, and we got to watch from the balcony – not even the videos I took quite captured the moment!
From that point on, things started getting a little manic. Some friends joined us, more tequila was had, and eventually at some point I had decided I’d had enough, and I was determined to walk home. Holly wouldn’t let me walk alone luckily, but with so many people it was just like town on a typical lunch time, so was all good (even if my feet were killing me by the time we got to my hill). Walking up sans hangover was a bonus on Saturday morning!
It has only just begun really, and with some exciting games ahead, I’m amped for the next month. Besides, with so many hot tourists in the city, it’s like summer in Cape Town, but even more so… loving it! 
I hope your World Cup moment was awesome wherever you were in the world, and I hope that this feVAH hits each of us big time!
It is HERE, feeeel it!
Wow!!! Awesomeness!! I can’t stop singing Waka waka either, it’s not as annoyng as it first seems
Thatnks so much for this post, I have to experience the WC through all the bloggers and am loving it!
It was awesome – really special indeed. My SA mates over your side have also been feeling the gees to some extent, sure it must be hard to have to watch from afar but as long as you feel it, it’s all good!