Quite a lot of conversation is going around about whether the vuvuzela should be banned or not. This happened prior to the World Cup as well, but they were granted allowance.
People watching the World Cup on SABC are saying that all they can hear is the sound of the vuvuzela and that it’s almost impossible to hear what commentators are saying. Commentators and the likes are saying that it’s incredibly difficult to report accurately with the droning sound of them.
Eric’s given his 4 solutions to the vuvuzela scenario and Danny Jordaan has said that if people continue complaining, he’ll make an effort to ban them, whether it’s entirely or for certain portions of the World Cup, this is still undecided. A number of Twitter users are saying that they should ban them during the game and something that made a lot of sense to me was Danny’s comment, “I would prefer singing”.
I must admit, the thought of singing over vuvuzela’s definitely catches my attention, I think singing is far more powerful and exciting. I get woken up every morning when the first train comes past because of all the people hanging out the train blowing them, it’s not ideal and because of this I’m leaning towards some form of action. As far as the matches go, I’m fortunate enough to have access to Super Sport HD, which does a great job of phasing the vuvuzela’s out, allowing me to hear the commentators properly, but I don’t hear any singing. Besides the sound, the picture quality of HD compared to SABC is incomparable (DSTV installation Cape Town)!
So, what do you think, should action be taken against the vuvuzela?
No
Yes please, but allow them only to blow when a goal was scored because I love it when someone misses a pass or a goal, as soon as that happens the whole stadium goes oawww!! I don’t hear the human unity whatever sounds they make because of the vuvuzela!!! but please don’t ban the vuvu
My tirade ISN’T about the vuvuzela being blown in the stadium (although that might change when I’m actually in the stadium) – BUT watching on TV is ANNOYING (that’s just my opinion – feel free to differ!) coz of the BEE SWARM in the background
I agree with Chris. Im “leaning towards action”. I dont know what that action should be but surely there is a solution or compromise that would leave supporters, players and the general public somewhat satisfied? At the moment the favor is leaning heavily towards the Vuvuzela owners and there is seemingly no regard for the general public. I know it’s said to be heritage but I dont think thats a good enough reason to continue the chaos!
Yes they should. 90% of my friends from overseas hate them.
It’s too noisey and I would prefer singing. Singing brings a whole different intense vibe to the game.
I’m not in favour of an all-out ban. However….
1. “The vuvuzela’s are an integral part of the South African supporter DNA.” Um, *cough*bullshit*cough*. The plastic vuvu is only a little more than half as old as our new democracy. SA has a rich history of football, spanning many, many years. The majority of which DID NOT include the vuvu. It’s a johnny-come-lately, nothing more.
2. The World Cup tournament. is not ours. We are THE HOSTS. We ask FIFA if we can hold the tournament here, we invite folks into our home, we roll out the red carpets, we have braais and light flares to spell out welcome messages, we blubber emotionally about how proud we are to have them here. And then we say stuff like:
“Whine fucken whine – host the #SWC in SA and we blow the Vuvuzela. Stuff off if u don’t like it. Watch the bloody tennis or chess!!!” Pardon?
We need to get over ourselves and our culture of entitlement, and fix this. Vuvu’s make a hell of a noise (permanent-hearing-loss levels) They piss off our visitors and distract the players. When you live alone you can burp and fart all you like. When you have visitors, if you want them to come back, you suck it up and change your behavior. It’s called manners. We are the hosts.
That’s my 50 cents…:)
The vuvuzela is the shittiest South African contribution to the world since apartheid. It kills the atmosphere, it’s childish and stupid and there is nothing positive about the annoying monotone sound of the bee swarm 90 minutes long. The vuvuzela blowers don’t even react to what’s happening on the pitch, they just keep blowing through the game, whether there is a missed chance, a goal or nothing at all is going on. This is without a doubt the most stupid World Cup crowd ever. And don’t tell me it’s a tradition. That’s bullshit. I couldn’t agree more with this post. Cheers!
@shahil – Why not? You need to give some kind of reasoning?
@Jason – Ye, I’m starting to agree that there’s a serious lack of human sound involved, hearing a crowd shout “awwwwww” or sing songs of praise add such huge value to sporting events.
@Paul – It’ll be a shame to lose them completely, but there needs to be a line drawn somewhere, determining that is the difficult part.
@Jovana – Agreed, singing is priceless.
@André – I agree with you that we are the hosts and that it’s not ours and based on the feedback I’ve received from International viewers, I’d say that if it’s abused, the International audience will look upon us poorly. Imagine the conclusion from International countries is that the World Cup was great, but messed up because of the vuvuzela’s – that would be a huge fail.
It’s going to be really interesting to see what happens or whether something comes of all of this. If they ban vuvuzela’s making their way into the stadium, the locals will be incredibly hacked off and I don’t foresee that being a good idea. I, personally, can’t think of a decision that will suite everyone, so one side of the fence is going to be unhappy regardless of the outcome.
From a country point of view, the World Cup is a massive move towards being accepted, bringing money in, etc. and these points are all fueled by the International audience, so with that in mind, one would say that the best move, for South Africa, would be to listen to what the International audiences are saying..
“I have been attending local football games since I was four years old (with my dad obviously at that stage) and in those days people used to scream, clap, sing etc. in much the same fashion as you would find in any other country. The twist is that there was always one or two chaps blowing a kudu (a type of antelope) horn as a trumpet but then only doing so sporadically during the course of the game (this was quirky and pretty cool).
I think it was around 2000 that some numpty started importing millions of cheap plastic trumpets from China which then quickly caught the attention of those people who always wanted to blow a kudu horn of their own but didn’t know where to get one. It has now become such a feature of the local game that people seem to think that it is a traditional aspect of the local game. In truth, it’s not. Some dude in China is making a killing and real supporters are increasingly becoming disenchanted with attending local games live for fear of losing their hearing. Casual fans on the other hand (obviously) love them to bits. You think they’re bad on television? Try sitting next to or in front of someone blowing one of those things over an entire game. Ban them I say!”
@Doodu – “The vuvuzela blowers don’t even react to what’s happening on the pitch, they just keep blowing through the game, whether there is a missed chance, a goal or nothing at all is going on.” ~ You know that that’s a really good point and I totally agree with it. Regardless of who scores or who misses or who does an amazing move, the vuvuzela’s just go, it definitely puts a strange take on what should be a competitive sport between two sides/countries.
Surely SABC can turn down that sound and turn up the commentary? I don’t have a problem on DSTV.
I’m pretty sure it’s possible, I guess it all boils down to how fancy the equipment they are using is? Perhaps that’s what they’ll start exploring, that would allow for the vuvuzela’s to remain and keep viewers happy. Although, it doesn’t help with the singing and human element..
Yes, South Africa. Please, ban them. This World Cup will go down in history as the WORST EVER if this madness doesn’t stop. Read, for example, hundreds of angry reactions to this post on NowPublic:
http://www.nowpublic.com/sports/vuvuzela-buzzing-sound-world-cup-2627698.html
Can you imagine the class action law suit that will follow suit if you Ban the Vuvuzela. So 1st you sell these noise machines and then you ban them? I think this would lead to unrest though cause Africans burn tiers much faster than lawsuits ;-)
Having watchd gams on both Super Spor and SABC I can say the background vuvuzela noice is poorly edited out by the SABC. As the official broadcaster they could do a better job. It’s sad that the national broadcaster does sucha poor job, but hey at least it’s available.
I would however agree, people need to be more respectful when blowing their vuvuzela’s. When the next dor neighbor here in PE blows his vuvu at 3am. I makes quiet a fw people really cross. I am still waiting to see headlines. “Man shoves vuvuzela up noise makers ass” or something similar, its only a matter of time ;-)
@simonB – Ye, there’s bound to be a news headline with some kind of play on those words!
@Footballfan – What do you think should be done?
Hi. Not sure if this is allowed, but based on Chris’s question I’ve added a little survey to my website. We debated the issue this after noon at lunch.
Go and vote – http://bit.ly/c05r4h
Get rid of them.
You’re ruining the World Cup.
It will NEVER come back to Africa after this nonsense.
They definitely should be banned. As numerous commentators have noted, it is exceedingly difficult to listen to it for extended periods, or even short periods, and it destroys the connection one ordinarily hears between the crowd and the play. It produces a cacaphanous wall of noise, which makes watching on TV with the sound on almost oppressive, and this much be much moreso in the stadiums. If it were restricted to goals or other high intensity points, that would of course be OK, but that is effectively impossible once they are in the stadium. I strongly agree with others that they are impairing the worldwide enjoyment of the World Cup in Africa, and with this noxious instrument, it will be many years before it returns there.
Ban this plastic piece of rubbish now!!!! it spreads germs, and can cause ear damage. what a pathetic piece of junk. you are throwing away south africas name!!! i wish a group of 100 people would throw this thing on the playing field. it will then surely be banneD. the international world are laughing at us. wake up danny jordaan. you are making us look bad, after an otherwise well organised event NOW THIS !!. DO SOMETHING NOW !!!!
I say please ban them. I watched the game between France and Uruguay in Cape Town, and was deaf when I walked out of the stadium. It will be fine if they get allowed to blow on them when a goal is scored, but do you really think they will stick to this?
I must admit that they do make an annoying sound and I’m agreeing with Chris for “leaning to action”. I’m not saying ban them. They are part of SA soccer tradition. Maybe only allow them to be blown when a goal is scored. Or disallow them at some games in the World Cup. Maybe from the quarter finals onwards :)
Well, that explains the ridiculous horn-blowing noise I heard on the TV the other day. It was quite annoying and I can see how disrupting it would be to be in the stadium. I wonder how the actual audience members feel? I don’t think they’d appreciate it so much.
I wish that there could be a nice way to resolve the issue, but seeing as it is harder to control how the horn is used, it is much simpler to ban it from the stadium.
i partial agree. It is quiet noisy and annoying but if thats what Bafana need as support bcoz they hav gotten used to that environment, then it should be allowed when SA is playing and should be blown to encourage Bafana maybe after the goal. If we really want the world cup to come bac again in another life time. We should really bend over just a little bit.
The vuvuzela is here to stay.
Consider it your early morning wake up call, Chris. Haha.
Singing is naff. It’s what they do in good ole England. Bugger English traditions.
This is South Africa, and soccer supporters don’t sing, they PARP.
The vuvuzela was invented in 1965 by a Kaiser Chief’s fan according to its wiki entry.
It’s basically the whiteys showing their intolerance of African tradition again. You don’t hear black South Africans telling whites how to support rugby and cricket.
south africa can forget to ever host another world cup event in the future. thanks to this annoying piece of crap callad a vuvuzela, we can ready ourselves to rather host a wall painting competition at most!! pathetic. ban this thing now!
at least we support in a civilized way!richard catto must be from england himself, not being used to this ”traditions”. the idiot who invented this rubbish should be banned to siberia himself. no normal person can live with this thing. wake up call!! hah ha ha. millions of people must be laughing at you right now. set your bloody alarm clock if you need a wake up call. or do us all a favour , and keep on sleeping. you will not be missed. oh, and please hug your vuvuzela today.
Personally the Vuvuzela noise does not bother me that much. I’m a smoker and most of us have learned to be considerate when being in the company of non-smokers. I feel that the same strategy should be practiced when it comes to the vuvuzela. If an oke is 4 rows from me in the stadium and blowing his vuvuzela it will not bother me, but if he’s right behind me and blows it into my ear I might just kick him in the olives or give him a decent tongue lashing. Its all about being considerate. The noise is irritating if the vuvuzela is being blown without regard for people who don’t like their noise and might be considered by some as ‘invasion of personal space’ if its blown to close to them.
Its disrespectful and should be banned if blown during the national anthems… (there is your leverage needed FIFA).
During the game however, Vuvuzelas have been a long standing tradition with South African soccer (since the 1990′s). In fact a similar instrument, called a corneta in Brazil and many other Latin American countries, is used by football fans in South America.
This does not mean I am for Vuvuzela’s but simply put, when in Rome (or this case RSA) …
Why do you people have always issues with African, In Europ and any other country where the World Cup has been hosted they did use the instrument making loud and unclear sound noise no one complained but you come here in Africa you want to tell us what to do.
Vuvuze stand
@ Mike,
Here here! well said
Please be advised that any attaque on Vuvuzela is an attaque on our Culture, so no one have a right to ban our culture .
I south africa the VuVuzela is used to express Joy and happiness, in DRC Bukavu they use it to call for assistance when there is truble, they also use it in a traditional wedding, they use it to call for people for anny report back.
They call it Mushekero in bukavu, in Rwanda it also used for many other special events
So this is Africa, this is African inspiration, this is African culture.
We well come you to our home, please enjoy the game with Vuvuzela
We love you
this is not an issue about white supporters or black supporters. we all root for our teams together, and stand as one. the issue is the noise it makes , in such a way that the coaches, players and everyone else involved cannot hear each other. commentry on tv is affected also. i will never buy a ticket to sit in that racket for half a day, never.
@Mike
Nobody has anything against the Vuvuzela and the South African culture. But, have you tried listening to the live broadcast of the games? International viewers can’t hear if there is a goal, or anything due to the tremendous sound wall generated. Also, it is disrespectful to other cultures and countries to blow on the Vuvuzela’s while they are singing their national anthem.
Personally, I think it would be best to allow, but keep it in moderation, but that would never happen. A complete ban during games will be the only solution unless everyone could be educated about proper usage within a couple of hours.
@ mike.
you should have been a stand up comedian. you make laugh. this is not a wedding in some african country. this is South Africa with a reputation at stake. i say BAN the crap!
take action!
the reason why SA soccer is crap is because they can’t hear each other against the noise.
i feel sorry for the players in the middles, i have said this on other blogs and forums too.
it is like you being inside a 10×10 room with a window on each wall and 100 people blowing vuvuzelas into the room while you are trying to talk on a cellphone.
people do not understand this aspect and they need to respect this.
If they ban the Vuvuzellas then surly they have to ban drums, horns, singing and shouting at the linesman in the stadiums.
I personally don’t think they add any value to the game, however they are cool to blow when you are drunk.
The vuvuzela does create atmosphere. It’s uniquely South African.
But I understand that not everyone likes every aspect of what is considered SA culture.
For instance, I think Die Stem should be dropped from our national anthem, and Afrikaans no longer be required to pass matric.
Basically we just have to deal with the bits we don’t like.
If noise disrupts your sleep, use earplugs.
@richard gatoooo
yeah right. replace Afrikaans in matric with how to behave yourself as south african. we will still speak it even if it is removed…. live with it my friend. it is here for ever and ever !!
I think that they are kind of annoying, but they bring such a vibe! This is the way Africa does things. I think the world needs to experience the gees that Africa brings to things! I noticed Supersport don’t make the sound as prominent which I like.
Here’s the latest news from The Associated Press:
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has defended South African fans’ right to blow their vuvuzela horns at World Cup matches despite global criticism from television viewers of the constant blaring noise.
The head of soccer’s governing body says Africa has “a different rhythm, a different sound,” and the fans’ tradition shouldn’t be stopped.
Blatter asks in a Twitter message: “Would you want to see a ban on the fan traditions in your country?”
World Cup organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo says vuvuzelas will not be banned in stadiums. Responding to questions at a news conference, Mkhondo said vuvuzelas are ingrained in South Africa’s history and were used by its forefathers.
Mkhondo says South Africa’s guests should embrace its culture and how its people celebrate.
I see I managed to touch you on your studio @jake
I would’nt go as far as banning them but the use of them during the matches definitely! The EU people are not too impressed with it and are rather p… off. If your at a mates house and he turns the volume of because of the noice then you know. Blunty put, how does my one irish friend say, and i quote: “arrgghhh motherfucking horns!! they’ve completely destroyed this world cup, well done fifa.”
Just bleep the swear words…but I think you get the point of view of some of the europeans when it comes to vuvuzelas…
Hey Ant, good to hear from you mate! Hope things are good your side.
Thanks for giving us an idea of what EU people are saying, I’m sure FIFA will be reviewig everything, because it’s really important that the International audience don’t frown upon South Africa over this, would be a great shame if what became the case :/
The Vuvuze is here to stay, even when South africa loose the game the Vuvuzela will still be there for ever
You just need to learn to stay with it
i went to the FIFA Fan Fest in CPT yesterday and I must say awesome vibe!
only issues i had was the vuvuzelas that people were constantly blowing in ur ears. i STILL have a semi headache and ringing in my ears from it yesterday.
parents even brought their kids and babies in. do the parents want to have babies and kids with ear problems? eeeish.
Just got sent this one..
“The horns stopped briefly tonight when uruguay scored their 3 goals albeit for an accumulation of about 60 seconds!! Still it was good to have that 60 seconds of proper football atmosphere. The fact that the horns were louder than ever as Forlan was taking his penalty is proof that they are simply to put footballers off their game… Heritage my arse, cop on fifa!!
“And as Cookie pointed out to me this evening, vuvuzela horns are BANNED at rugby games in South Africa!! So why should fans of the worlds greatest game have to put up with this!!?? You were right in what you said weeks ago Cookie, i think we all see what you mean now.”
“Oh god, them horns are soo annoying !!”