Vuvuzela

I would first like to say that I am a Richardo Clark fan and I think he proved my point on Saturday's game. For those doubters, go back and watch him on defense, he's not a Torres kind of mid fielder, but against a squad like England we needed that extra help in the back. Him and Howard seem to be on the same page too, which also helps. More thoughts on the game(s) later.

The main story of this World Cup has been the Vuvuzela. Let me start by saying this: They do annoy the hell out of me. I do miss the chants and drums and all the things that I associate with soccer crowd noise. They do give me a headache. BUT I do not want them banned.

Part of what I love about the World Cup (and also the Olympics) is how the host country is represented through out the events. Do I always enjoy the Olympic opening ceremonies? Thinking back to Canada's, NO. But I do respect that that is part of the event. SB informed me last night that the vuvuzela's have only been a massive part of South African culture for 7 years; not sure his source on this, but frankly I don't care. Part of the joy of hosting the world cup is getting to do it your way, with your people and your culture. I am in no position to tell South Africa how to watch the games, how to attend the games, and what I perceive their culture to be.

People have complained that the noise has drowned out the typical chants and crowd noise of soccer. I agree, but that is my perspective of viewing. The world cup is not supposed to always be from my perspective. That's why its the WORLD CUP.

I still heard the crowd yell "GOOCH" after a good play by Onyewu on Saturday. And the crowd I was with all chanted and provided me with the crowd noise that I am familiar with.

I doubt we will all ever agree on this topic. But I think its time we face it; they are not going anywhere. We can either spend everyday for the next three weeks complaining about them. Or we can create our own atmospheres to watch the games and embrace the international power of this game. I'm choosing the latter.