Vuvuzela, a characteristic of South African Football

It has been heartwarming to watch FIFA World Cup Football 2010. There have been some major upsets, few lack lustre performances and many amazing performances. Even big name teams are finding it hard to score easy victories upon little known, lower ranked teams. It's been a pleasure to watch these games. My only complaint is time difference. All games fall between my office work time and I have to watch it online while my (American) office colleagues walk in only to find me watching football instead of busy working like them.

Work or football has become a puzzling choice not only for me but thousands of people like me in other countries like England that can boast avid football fans. According to a BBC podcast that I was listening to today, many companies in England have been pretty lenient on their workers watching football at workplace. Kellogs has been very supportive, I heard.

In Bangladesh, due to power cuts during FIFA world cup game, avid football fans could not watch the game. They came down to streets protesting against the government and attacking power utility buildings. The government had to issue a request to businesses to halt their operation from 8 pm onwards so that enough power is available to run televisions in Bangladeshi homes. My country Nepal faces power cuts for several hours daily too. Nepal Electricity Authority should learn an early lesson from Bangladesh or else face similar consequences.

Vuvuzela, a trumpet made up of plastic that produces a loud noise has been another interesting controversy during this FIFA. It is a stadium trumpet very popular among South African crowds and we can hear continuous sounds on our television sets during games. European and other western television viewers have complained against this "annoying" sound. I can only imagine what Westerners among South African crowd in the stadium must be feeling. It's been a tradition for them and most other Latin American countries too. I know it's annoying but it's South Africa's world cup and we should let them entertain us their way. No more western interference, please.

Brazil is playing their first game tomorrow. Brazil all the way!!!!!!!