Soccer Fever

Bradley had been building up in excitement the whole week for today's activity at school. The item on the weekly school notice said that a seven a side fun soccer tournament would be held today to help promote enthusiasm for soccer as part of the countdown to the soccer world cup.

Well, judging from the array of colourful tshirts, caps and wigs adorning most of the students, as well as various blasts from vuvuzela's which some students had brought with them, the enthusiasm needs no extra promotion amongst the teenagers of our country. Bradley had prepared the yellow t-shirt he was going to wear as well as a 2 litre bottle of juice which he popped in the freezer last night to ice up in preparation for the this afternoon's soccer. He will be playing in a team which are calling themselves...'Brazil'. There was no dragging him out of bed this morning. He was up and dressed in a flash and soon nagging me to finish so we could get out the door and off to school.

He has asked me to try and come to the school this afternoon to see him play so I will try and do so. Its not often he has so much enthusiasm for anything happening at school so his love of soccer is to be encouraged.

He's not so much a fan of local soccer as of international and can name many of the players in the international teams. His latest nag/request is for a Manchester United beanie and a soccer shirt and soccer ball, none of which can be obtained at low cost. I have put those requests on hold for the moment but I have planned to buy him his own soccer boots for when the school starts soccer practice next term.

Now, just because I'm writing about soccer, I can hear a vuvuzela being blown somewhere in our office park. I pop onto the balcony and there it is. Someone's child in the building next door is blowing their vuvuzela. Everywhere you go, especially on a Friday which is more casual dressing day, people are wearing their Bafana Bafana shirts, in the bank, at the office, in the shops.

Soccer Fever is infectious!