Image it: June 11, 2010. The FIFA World Cup is kicking off, and for the primary time in its historical past, it is kicking off on African soil. South African soil, to be precise.
The bafana bafana, South Africa’s beloved nationwide workforce, is warming up underneath the lights of the Soccer Metropolis stadium in Johannesburg. The air is thick with humidity and pulsing with the electrical hum of hundreds of vuvuzelas. Tv viewers the world over will develop bored with their infinite drone over the course of the event, however tonight, throughout the opening recreation of the event, their thrum is international and intoxicating.
South Africa’s first opponent is Mexico, a perennial knockout-round contender recognized for bringing a home-field benefit wherever it travels. And certainly, there’s a sizable Mexican contingent current on this stadium, doing its finest to drown out the South African vuvuzelas with its personal noise. It is preventing a dropping battle, but it surely’s preventing all the identical.
The sport will get underway. South Africa struggles to deal with Mexico’s intense strain. It is not anticipated to win this recreation, and it passes the primary half in a state of panic. Minutes tick by, and harmful Mexican photographs tick up.
However then, 10 minutes into the second half, there is a second of calm. South Africa finds a little bit rhythm within the middle of the park, and Teko Modise finds midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala with an inch-perfect cross. Tshabalala takes a beat, goals and fires.
It is an exquisite volley, probably the greatest he’ll ever strike, and it sails into the Mexican web to open the scoring in South Africa’s favor. The group goes wild; the vuvuzelas double in quantity. The English commentators scream to be heard over the din. Aim for South Africa. Aim for all of Africa.
