Bloemfontein is the best saved for last

I have attended multiple games in Johannesburg, the supposed epicenter of World Cup 2010, where the flagship stadium, Soccer City, was built and where the final will be played on July 11. But the match between South Africa and France in Bloemfontein on Tuesday had a far better audience than any of the Joburg games. Directly after kickoff, vuvuzelas went quiet. And the crowd began to sing together. The first song was “Thiba ka bona, e bolaea ntja sena.” Or the Sesotho words sounded like that: Stop these killer dogs. I didn't ask if I'd heard correctly. I didn't care, really. I was just so happy to be doing something in the stands other than listen to incessant vuvuzela drone in my ears. And the fun didn't stop there.

We then clapped in unison. Then we stomped as the wave toured the stadium and we stood up and sat down. When a Bafana Bafana player dribbled dangerously close to the French goal vuvuzelas lit up, or when there was a corner kick, or after South Africa scored their first goal, vuvuzelas lit up. But the crowd at Free State Stadium didn't keep their lips locked on their horns, tooting them endlessly and mindlessly as everyone did in the Johannesburg stadiums. It was an incredibly pleasant change. I actually enjoyed hearing the vuvus come up as something exciting was about to happen. And after South Africa scored their first goal the crowd chanted together the name of the scorer, “Khumalo, Bongani.”

I'd always thought Bloemfontein was a dry town in the flat and boring center of the country, but it has the greatest soccer fans. It was right that Bafana Bafana bowed out of the tournament before the best crowd.