I always preface my conversations about this sort of thing with a disclaimer. I know next to nothing about football. I even slip up some times and refer to it as soccer, which is a specifically North American blasphemy.
There's a party in the streets every few days. I see motorcycles draped small children waving flags. People (before the last match anyway) keep asking me who I support. Ghana is the obvious answer. Occasionally I point out that I'm not American, which counters an assumption that I have realized is rarely made. Canada's pretty involved in the NGO sector out here and we've got a reasonable number of expatriates. We've hold about as much mental space out here as the States.
I admit that I wanted to see the USA lose. I compare the Canada-USA relationship with Ghana-Nigeria. This is more or less a lie, but it's like the lies they told you in your younger Science classes - a simple explanation to a complex problem and maybe we'll get into what's actually going on in some indeterminate future. I saw Bill Clinton on TV, next to Mick Jagger. I have a nice image of them sitting in a Joburg bar. Bill Clinton is crying softly over his beer and muttering about ball control. Mick Jagger has his arm around the ex-President's shoulders. They commiserate.
In any case, the USA lost. The crowd in the bar went nuts, just like they went nuts when Ghana scored. Or had a free kick. Or subbed in a popular player. I learned what a vuvuzela is. It's a long horn, popular in South African football tradition. It blows a B flat and can cause hearing loss.
Ghana is now the only African team left in the cup. If they beat Uruguay in the next match, they'll be the only African team to have ever made the semi finals. I wonder what that party'd be like?
There's a party in the streets every few days. I see motorcycles draped small children waving flags. People (before the last match anyway) keep asking me who I support. Ghana is the obvious answer. Occasionally I point out that I'm not American, which counters an assumption that I have realized is rarely made. Canada's pretty involved in the NGO sector out here and we've got a reasonable number of expatriates. We've hold about as much mental space out here as the States.
I admit that I wanted to see the USA lose. I compare the Canada-USA relationship with Ghana-Nigeria. This is more or less a lie, but it's like the lies they told you in your younger Science classes - a simple explanation to a complex problem and maybe we'll get into what's actually going on in some indeterminate future. I saw Bill Clinton on TV, next to Mick Jagger. I have a nice image of them sitting in a Joburg bar. Bill Clinton is crying softly over his beer and muttering about ball control. Mick Jagger has his arm around the ex-President's shoulders. They commiserate.
In any case, the USA lost. The crowd in the bar went nuts, just like they went nuts when Ghana scored. Or had a free kick. Or subbed in a popular player. I learned what a vuvuzela is. It's a long horn, popular in South African football tradition. It blows a B flat and can cause hearing loss.
Ghana is now the only African team left in the cup. If they beat Uruguay in the next match, they'll be the only African team to have ever made the semi finals. I wonder what that party'd be like?
Thankyou for drawing this picture of the Ghana World Cup party- I feel like I'm missing so much! I hear no vuvuzelas round here but will at least go see the Friday Ghana match at a big public screening and stand with the Ghanaians there to capture something of the excitement you must be seeing.
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