The vuvuzela: To blow or not to blow?

I personally do not want to be portrayed as a "wet blanket" because i am truly a fun loving person, but, if i was in the "top 10 of Forbes's riches tycoons", i would love to buy each and every vuvuzela in the world.....burn it.......and use the contents for 'reclycling'! I love my soccer.....but always turn down the volume.....i unfortunately are not able to get to the grounds. Also, with us living on the beach front and you get S A clubs, say Pirates playing Chiefs........you do not want to be around when the fans 'camp out' on our front door on our beaches for the weekend match.....and blow them vuvuzela's from early evening right through till sunrise on a weekend! As noise do travel........it hits us where it hurts most.......in the ears.....straight into our heads! Feels like a massive 'hangover' the next day when you try and get out of bed. Sorry, vuvuzela fans......but that instrument "hurts" big time and if we want to generate "income and have happy tourists for the 2010 soccer World Cup"....that vuvuzela should go!..........keep it local......enjoy it on Club level......but spare us with the 2010 Soccer event please!

At rugby matches I've heard the crowd making so much noise that the players can't hear the ref's whistle and the hookers can't hear how to make the lineout calls - nobody tells the supporters to keep quiet because the captain needs to have vocal communication with the players - they just make a plan.
At cricket matches in the Eastern Cape that brass band has sometimes almost driven me nuts - I think they know six tunes and they play them over and over all day - but I'd never dream of wanting them to go away. And the noise at cricket matches in India....

Hey at least its in sterio :-)

Interesting point of view. I definitely agree that football has reached a point where the fan is the driving force. I suppose it did so decades ago. But there are an equal number of fans at each game that want to see the best football that teams have to put on show, and would like to enjoy it without a stereo symphony of monotony .

I don't think the 'what's good for the goose is good for the gander' argument applies here. If it did, it would be OK for fans to shout whenever they wanted to at a Wimbledon final. The fact is you can't, because the sport requires concentration. Football arguably doesn't require the same level of focus as tennis does, but vocal communication is a part of the game. That's why football teams have captains.

I agree that the US player is wrong in blaming anyone but himself and the team for the goal, but the fact that the question is even being raised seals the deal for me.

Hi Neil
I disagree. These days sport stars are no more than actors or entertainer (thanks to the professional area). They play to entertain the sport fans. If the sport fan (not the lazy bugger watching from his couch,) wants to blow a vuvu at the game to add to their entertainment / enjoyment levels then they should be able to. Ask anyone blowing a vuvuzela at the game if they find is irritating. Just because people can't join in on the fun they've got a problem with it.

Oh shame my heart bleeds for them. I'm watching the Tour at the moment and the cyclists manage to communicate with each other at 50km an hour with hand signals - as for the coach - if he does his job properly, his team should know what to do on match day, but I get your point about the complaining player - the one who allowed a goal to happen - hey it couldn't possibly be his fault...

Read this :)

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=656066&sec=us&cc=3888
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=656178&sec=global&cc=3888

I just love the Vuvuzela's their sound, the colors - if the players decide they don't want them that's different, but I haven't yet head one player complain.