Yes. The Vuvuzelas Really ARE That Loud!

Yesterday's match was Ghana-Serbia in Pretoria at Loftus Versfeld Stadium, which primarily is a rugby facility, home to the Blue Bulls, and other world events, such as the rugby World Cup in 1995. The crowd was quite loud, especially with the South African fans chipping in to cheer pro-Africa for Ghana. The result was a deafaning background noise from an hour and a half before kickoff throughout the match.

My traveling companion here, Andy Mead of Yellow Card Journalism, was kind enough to snap this action photo, displaying my anti-vuvuzela device.

You'll also notice the lens, which is a loaner from Nikon Professional Services. During warm-ups for the U.S. - England match, my primary long lens started behaving strangely, and its utility, I'm afraid, is lost for the remainder of the tournament. NPS will help out and I'll be using a loaner long lens for the rest of my stay at World Cup.

As you can see, the loaner worked out OK.

At halftime, I changed positions to go with the Serbian attack, which I really thought would pull out the match. A late penalty call by the Argentinian referee, however, swung the match in Ghana's favor. What is it about the World Cup and Ghana getting penalties (see U.S.-Ghana, 2006)?

I especially put this photo in for my former, and current, goalkeepers. You know how I always say to react, not guess on penalties? Here is evidence. Serbia's Vladamir Stojkovic, who plays at Wigan in the English Premier League, didn't take that advice. He gambled. He (and they) lost.

In the end, the Ghana win was a festive winning atmosphere for the African 'home' side.

Today, a Scandinavian showdown in Jo'burg: Holland v. Denmark. Should be fun and quite colorful.

Copyright 2010. Contents of this blog, written and photographic, are protected from unauthorized use and reproduction by any means, with All Right Reserved by Perry McIntyre, Atlanta, GA