World Cup – Are you getting the BUZZZZZZ? by David Rawnsley – Cornwall Ontario – June 15, 2010

Cornwall ON – If you are just tuning in to the World Cup and you are wondering what is wrong with the audio on your TV, what is that incessant droning in the background? Whoa, what is that all about? Relax! Your TV is OK. This is soccer the South African way. Soccer with its own attitude! In brief – noisy soccer.

My wife, a life-long member of the 50% of the Weather Channel’s viewers who are uninterested in soccer, was on it like a flash – what is that noise? I could have (perhaps) watched it but with that noise going on all the time it would have to be with the sound off.

For me, the soccer nut, this is a clue as to which hemisphere will win this year. Typically, when the World Cup has been held in the Western Hemisphere it has been won by a country from that hemisphere and likewise it has most often been an eastern team when held in the East. However, it has never been held in Africa, so we must wait and see where Africa belongs, might it not be a Southern verses Northern Hemisphere issue with the South Americans being the key component.

While the South African buzz has its own annoying tone it is not dissimilar from the noise that South American crowds generate at their local soccer games. Created by basic one note horns these allow the most insignificant, nondescript, fan to contribute to the collective energy of the supporters through sound. The sound is maintained at a fever pitch level throughout the match with the hope of intimidating the opposition and the officials. Imagine playing for 90 minutes with the dentist’s drill boring away into your psyche!

So I am going out on a limb and predicting that it will be a Southern Hemisphere team that will win the World Cup this year, as this noise is their noise.

As well, typically, the other hemisphere provides the losing finalist.

Tomorrow I will talk about new tactics emerging that are more akin to the NFL than soccer and may provide further insight into who will be the winner.

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2 Comments

  1. The noise maker is called a vuvuzela, for your information. Hopefully they will not cross the ocean to our shores….

  2. Ooooh yeah, FIFA Fevaaaaa! 😀

    Otherwise they’re already here Stan, just not as rampantly used.

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