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An incredible country

Lavvers lapped up the World Cup, despite England's woes

Last updated: 07th July 2010

We're reaching the end of the World Cup and even though it was really frustrating to see England exit early again, I still feel really privileged to have been there.

The entire country of South Africa has been enjoying a massive party and we were kindly invited. It was an incredible experience in an incredible country.

The 10-and-a-half hour journey to South Africa wasn't very pleasant for a tall guy like myself (lots of shuffling and awkwardness) but three films and two episodes of Family Guy later we arrived in Johannesburg where we departed on a second flight to Cape Town.

We arrived six hours before England's game against Algeria, so quickly settled into our hotel and set off straight to the ground. The party was in full swing by the time we arrived with English fans invading the row of bars in the lead up to the stadium.

However, it seems that wherever you go in the world to watch football you will still have to put up with dreadful pre-match food, so we left our imitation hotdogs and entered Green Point Stadium.

Sadly, the team did not produce the expected result but the fascination of being in our new surroundings almost hid the disappointment and I was just trying to take in as much as I could.

Perception

We were frequently asked about our perception of the country before our arrival and how it had changed.

The TV coverage has focused heavily on the poorer side of the country but the benefits to the average South African are very high as well and they are enjoying it as much as any other fan. Hopefully the World Cup will leave a lasting legacy.

One element of the competition that surprised me was the relaxed security. You would expect the measures to be very strict but even though appropriate measures were in place the restrictions were very calm which is something I believe would be very different should we win the bid to host the World Cup in 2018.

I think it helped create a more relaxed environment inside the stadium which helped when it came to the integration of several groups of fans, although the English seemed to take over both stadiums that we visited.

We did get some time to experience some of the country in the days between matches; the visit to Table Mountain was quite breathtaking and helped a little towards tackling a fear of heights.

We also visited Addo National Park where we were able to come up close and personal with some of the wildlife of South Africa. Seeing a group of African elephants in such close proximity was quite amazing, they are wonderful animals and it was a real buzz.

People

The tournament will be mainly remembered for the Vuvuzelas (which could be heard almost constantly throughout our trip from the moment we entered arrivals at Johannesburg airport until late into the night) but personally I will remember the amazing South African people.

They had smiles on their faces for the entire duration of our stay and they were willing to help us wherever possible. Many of the South Africans were cheering on England so we were regularly greeted with 'Come on England' in various locations by the hosts.

It was also good to meet fans from many different nationalities, with a special mention for the guy simply known as 'Mohammed from Mexico' whose moves on the dance floor put us to shame.

We also bought tickets to Switzerland v Chile, which allowed us to experience the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium a few days before England were due there.

It was a very different experience. We became honorary Chile fans and the infectious excitement of the Chileans was a very different atmosphere to the one of the English with it having more of a party feel to it.

During the remainder of the trip the occasional 'Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le' chant would be started by Baby Elvis which would reveal the animated fans of the national side nicknamed 'Everybody's Team'.

Expensive

Despite the amazing intensity of the Chile match, it wasn't able to beat seeing Jermain Defoe scoring against Slovenia. It may have been an expensive goal for us - with it being the only England one of our trip - but it was worth every penny.

It was horrible to have to watch the way in which we were defeated against the Germans back home. I can only imagine what the flight home would have been like if we'd had to suffer the long journey after that match.

Luckily I didn't have much time to think about it as I was on the plane to Portugal to recover from South Africa and soak up the sun which quickly evaporated the memories of the match.

I'm back in England now and I've got just enough time to catch up with Tubes and Steve who have also both been enjoying sunnier climates in recent weeks so it will be good to meet up before heading back to the office to prepare for the new season.

After quite a bit of time off, you can guarantee we won't be complaining of tiredness... well not yet anyway!

Lavvers