14/06/2010 – Fourwheels@okombe!

After two weeks on the road, countless adventures we’re here at the greatest party on earth! The vibe in SA is fantastic, there are flags flying and vuvuzelas vuuuiiiing everywhere!

Our first Fan encounter was with a group of the Naija Bradas…who were celebrating ‘losing like men!’ to Argentina. They gathered at this spot in Sandton that does Nigerian dishes…and man those portions are Naija sized! I was quite scared at first thinking a serious fight was about to breakout as everyone was really shouting and then I realized they were just placing their orders….:-)

Our First Drink in Jozi

Must Bond with the Mascot

Ghana vs Serbia was our first Stadium Game….waaah! SA have done a wonderful job of managing logistics getting to Pretoria (now known as Tshwane), to the Stadium and to our seats was very smooth. SA guys turned up in the numbers to support the Black Stars. Harambee Stars were also represented in the Stadium by Musembi who proudly wore their flag throughout the game. It may be the closest they get to a World Cup for a while…but hope lives forever

Harambee Starts at Okombe!

Fourwheels@okombe!

The crowd was a 40,000 person orchestra of rhythmic vuvuzelas and Mexican waves. Support for the starts was overwhelming and it kept them going even when things looked kind of stuck at the end of the first half. We all know how that game ended so I won’t get into details. Credit to the pockets of Serbian fans who have come a long way to support their team…those guys have morale but they could use some vuvuzela training .

Ghana wins!

There was one moment last night with a very special bus driver…the organizers have this system where you park your car and ride to the stadium (works very well at least one way). On the way back to our car, we entered this bus that had been clearly labeled UNISA, with the parking venue where our car was parked.. We were joined by about 30 other like minded individuals and the bus drove off. After 20 minutes the bus driver stops in a field and announces that we (all 30 of us) are on the wrong bus. It took another 20 minutes of negotiations, consultations and countless re-checking of the bus label before he reluctantly agreed that perhaps he wasn’t carrying 30 morons and it may be possible that he was mistaken! Stay on the right bus now won’t you!