Every World Cup there is at least one game where a team gets demolished; I was at that game. Portugal 7 – Korea DPR 0; Absolute entertainment. I had been to the England Algeria game previously which was quite the opposite. I had seats in the 300 deck for that game which was confusing because we had category 1 tickets. When I looked at the tickets for the Portugal game the seats were in the 400 section. I was livid. $160 for the best seats in the house, category 1, to sit in the 400s. We got to the stadium and there was only one entrance to the 400s through a back door, up stairs. I remember thinking “@$*!, they don’t even have an elevator to get up there.” On top of that every doorway on the way up we passed an usher would demand to see my tickets, as if I would swap seats to sit in the 400s. Then we walked into a passage that opened up into the Stadium, it turns out the 400 section in Cape Town happens to be the hospitality section. Cushioned seats, more leg room, amazing view and only one section from the VIPs. AMAZING! I turned to my right to look down my row and I even saw the great ‘Eusebio’ sitting the section over. What a pleasant surprise.
The next day we went to the top of Table Mountain. The moment there is a day with good weather you have to go because you can never tell when the clouds will sit on the mountain. Shark diving got canceled (Because of the swells, not because I wimped out – don’t worry it got rescheduled), so we took the opportunity to go atop table mountain. The line to get on the cable car was an hour and a half long, but we made good conversation with a Brazilian waiting in line with us. After spending a few minutes talking about Brazil’s chances and his hatred for Argentina, we talked about many other things such as 2014, business etc. He also told me he collects jerseys and happens to own 4 MLS jerseys. Kansas City, Chicago, NYRB and of course the Columbus Crew. Fantastic! The view of the City from Table Mountain is unreal – we were blighted though by slight cloud cover.
After Table Mountain we went into town looking for a ‘game meal’. This would consist of game animal meats. Based on the recommendation of a few local South Africans we met a Kalk Bay, we headed for a restaurant called ‘Mama Africa’. Usually during dinner your meal here is accompanied by fire shows and Zulu dancers. Being there for lunch we were only accompanied by a cute Columbian waitress. She arranged the ‘game meal’ for us which consisted of Crocodile kebab, Springbock steak, Ostrich kebab, Kudu steak and a Springbock and Venison sausage. Interesting, different and for the most part delicious. Crocodile, I have had the pleasure of eating before – I love it. It’s a white meat and its texture is like a combination of chicken and seafood. I know it sounds disgusting but its good trust me. The sausage was average and had a weird after taste to it. The springbock steak was tough but still had some distinct flavours. I probably wouldn’t order it again. My favorites though were the Ostrich and Kudu. Kudu is like a South African Antelope with huge antlers. They were both relatively tough but had such amazing flavors. They taste ‘gamey’ whatever that is supposed to mean.
We were so into the meal that we arrived at the fan park 30 minutes before the crucial Bafana game. It was packed. About 30,000 people full. Outside in front of Police on horses were other fans singing and pleading to get in. No such luck. We found a small café in Shortmarket with 2 small TVs showing each game faced into the courtyard for the many fans to watch. Goal, Red Card, Goal; the place was buzzing. It was doable. A 4-5 goal swing seemed possible and so my mate and I said we have to make it into that fan park for the second half. We have to try because who knows, if a miracle happens we want to be there for it. We ran to the front of the fan park and still no such luck. We sprinted around the park through people to get to the other entrance. On the way there were many standing on light poles to sneak a view of the game. “Only allowing 250 more people in” said one event organizer. So we waited in line. No chance. Completely full. What do we do? We sprinted all the way back around to the short market. I didn’t want to miss it. I don’t think I have ever run so much in my life. Every time we heard an ‘ooh’ or an ‘aah’ we diverted our path, ran across the open road, into a local hole in the wall mart, crowded with people watching. “He hit the post” one person said, we saw the replay and jetted back for the short market. We finally made it, but unfortunately Bafana Bafana didn’t. Yet the South Africans, some disappointed and angry, some proud. They did after all beat last World Cup’s finalists. Many continued to dance with pride into the night.
Cape Town from Table Mountain. You can see the Stadium Left hand corner next to the small mountain
Game Meal - From R to L: Croc, Springbock, Ostrich, Kudu and Sausage
Bafana fans watching the game in the shortmarket