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Make it Stop, Make it Stop, Make it Stop! Today is Vuvuzela Day In South Africa

Jun 9, 2010, 2:55 PM UTC

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We know there are a lot of you out there who haven’t watched a ton of soccer in the last few years, so this is a fair warning about what you will hear for the next month. No, the stadiums around South Africa are not filled with bees. They’re filled with South African fans – and the souvenir-happy tourists just trying to fit in with the locals – who love to blow the vuvuzela.â†µâ†µWhoever thought the end of the world might come from a long plastic horn?â†µ

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â†µâ†µThat video is from Vuvuzela Day, a term used by some in South Africa to commemorate annoying the entire planet at 12 p.m. with the blowing of those annoying horns across the entire country.â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥They were responding to a call for all South Africans to blow a vuvuzela or hoot a car horn at 12pm for five minutes in support of Bafana Bafana and the World Cup.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥People sporting Bafana Bafana shirts, flags and colourful headgear flooded the streets and crowded balconies around the city.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µTo be fair, the South African population seems to be galvanized by the event, with vuvuzelas being blown as part of the celebration to kick off the World Cup. With just a few days before the official start of the event, the country is as excited as one could possibly be. And that’s cool…now keep it down!â†µ
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The Guardian has a poll asking if the vuvuzelas are too much for readers to stand. So far 57.4 percent have said yes. Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Gate has a story yesterday blasting the plastic horns, and FIFA’s decision not to ban them. Then there’s a report on the website Digital Spy that quotes German player Arne Friedrich, who says:â†µâ†µâ‡¥“Every nation has its own way to celebrate the game, while I am not a fan - I must admit they are bloody loud - you have to respect them and the longer we are here, the more we will get used to them.â†µâ‡¥
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â†µâ‡¥“You have to adapt to it mentally, there will be plenty of noise involved in games, not just from the vuvuzelas. You can think about adding ear plugs, but that would mean an even more serious communication problem on the pitch.” â†µâ†µSo, soccer fans around the globe, take solace in knowing that the players are as annoyed as we are.â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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