Dispatches From South Africa: The Old African Bugaboo Behind Disappointing Results

But, uh, they left their soccer boots somewhere else, apparently.

What has become of African soccer here? This was supposed to be African soccer’s moment, where a team built from such talent and ability could finally push beyond a quarterfinal. There was hope that Elephants would dare, that Super Eagles would soar, that the Black Stars would star or that Indomitable Lions would be, well, indomitable. And maybe even that a typically overmatched Bafana Bafana would rise up, lifted by the power of hope and the critical mass of national pride and shock the world.