With love from World cup 2010
Jul 22, 2010
THINKING past the deadly bomb blasts<br>that rocked the World Cup final shows<br>in Uganda, Ugandans will remember<br>the first World Cup finals in Africa for<br>many memorable moments. But most<br>of all, for its new additions into popular culture.
THINKING past the deadly bomb blasts
that rocked the World Cup final shows
in Uganda, Ugandans will remember
the first World Cup finals in Africa for
many memorable moments. But most
of all, for its new additions into popular culture. Joseph Ssemutooke explores the most intriguing of these
NEW UNIVERSALLY USED WORDS
There are words the World Cup has added to the vocabularies of various languages under the sun. The likes of
vuvuzela, makarapa and jabulani. Vuvuzela has already been added to dictionaries in English, Spanish and French, while jabulani is increasingly being used in different areas to refer to a football.
And then, some chaps are mutating
the words for their own interests. For instance, a girl on Facebook has changed her name to Boob-sela. Some chap also refers to one of his body organs as ‘my vuvuzela’.
THE VUVUZELA
The notoriously loud plastic blowing horns are a major part of South African football and it is from there that they have entered world popular culture. No matter what some might want to believe, it is the 2010 World Cup that brought us the vuvuzela. Non-South African soccer fans first seriously fell in love with the blowing horns during the Confederations Cup in 2009, which tournament was, in a way, part of the World Cup since it was a dress-rehearsal for the real thing to come later on.
And by the time the World Cup actually kicked off last month, vuvuzelas were the must-have supporting tool for any soccer fan. In Britain, the world cup has found its way into fans’ hands at cricket matches.
K’NAAN THE RAPPER
Early this year, the Somali-born Canadian
was just another rapper among a sea of good rappers the world over, until the World Cup beckoned, and FIFA co-sponsors Coca Cola chose his Wavin Flag song as their official anthem
for the tournament.
K’naan is now a world-renown star rapper. He remixed the originally political-oriented lyrics of the song into a celebratory tune and now Wave Your Flag is a favourite on many airwaves. The 31-year-old rapper is most likely to build further on the platform the World Cup has afforded him.
PAUL THE OCTOPUS
This octopus might actually turn out to be the most enduring legacy of the 2010 World Cup. Who will forget the eight-legged oracle from Germany who correctly predicted the winner in eight out of eight World Cup games, including the final match between Spain and Netherlands?
Who will forget seer Paul whom the Spanish prime minister volunteered to offer protection, after multitudes in his native Germany wanted to roast him for predicting a Spainish victory over Germany? Paul is now being sought to predict results in several major football leagues soon to kick off in England, France, Holland and Spain.
Other people are borrowing from Paul’s exploits to come up with their own sports-predicting animals such as rabbits and parrots.
A SCORE OF HIT SONGS
Along with new artistes and revolutionised old ones, the World Cup leaves us some great songs. Wavin Flag and Waka Waka (from the aforementioned K’naan and Shakira respectively) are undoubtedly the biggest of the pack.
Then there is Sign of Victory by R.Kelly and Everywhere You Go featuring Keri Hillson and a score of African superstars, including Nigeria’s 2Face and our own Jose Chameleone. Akon and Kelly’s Oh Africa perhaps did not become a big hit only because its sponsors were not part of the World Cup.
AN AFRICANISED SHAKIRA
Long before the World Cup, the sultry Latina’s innuendo- laden dance routines are what attracted us to her, much more than her sound and lyrics. Then the World Cup got the hip-shaker remixing one of Africa’s biggest tracks, giving us a new reason to love her even more.
Hearing Shakira sing Tsamina mina Zangalewa on primarily African beats is like hearing her proclaim that she has become one of us. For as long as the track is still popular on the airwaves, Shakira can bank on a new base in Africa.
NEW FAVOURITE PLAYERS FOR WOMEN
Forget David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Raul Gonzalez, Theo Walcott,
Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kaka. The African World Cup has left women with new favourite football
stars to fantasise about. If asked for their favourite footballers, many
women will now drop names like David Villa and Gerard Pique (Spain). Singer Shakira also likes them. Then there is Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
Since women consider success to be an important part of a man’s ‘hotness’,
Spaniards had to top their charts because they were the most successful
team in World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Away from the Spaniards, the new ladies’ players include Uruguay’s Diego Forlan (voted best player at the World Cup), Ghana’s Kevin Prince Boateng and Asamoah Gyan, Netherlands’ Wesley Sneidjer and Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Then, among those whose female fan bases were already big but have increased are Spain’s Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas.
FAN PARKS
And then there are the outdoor viewing
places where fans gather to view
matches, popularly known as fan parks.
Before the World Cup came around,
fan parks were entirely alien to Uganda
and we only heard that they were a big
thing outside our borders.
Now, several Ugandans know what
it is like to be inside a fan park. The
World Cup brought us two of them, at
Nakivubo Stadium and at the ill-fated
Kyadondo Rugby Club.
Fans watched the games in multitudes,
blowing their vuvuzelas, drinking beer,
eating muchomo and enjoying artistes
perform during halftime. Unfortunately,
the 7/11 bomb horrors that hit the
Kyadondo viewing place might have
meant the death of the fun-packed fan
parks shortly after their entry into the
country.
that rocked the World Cup final shows
in Uganda, Ugandans will remember
the first World Cup finals in Africa for
many memorable moments. But most
of all, for its new additions into popular culture. Joseph Ssemutooke explores the most intriguing of these
NEW UNIVERSALLY USED WORDS
There are words the World Cup has added to the vocabularies of various languages under the sun. The likes of
vuvuzela, makarapa and jabulani. Vuvuzela has already been added to dictionaries in English, Spanish and French, while jabulani is increasingly being used in different areas to refer to a football.
And then, some chaps are mutating
the words for their own interests. For instance, a girl on Facebook has changed her name to Boob-sela. Some chap also refers to one of his body organs as ‘my vuvuzela’.
THE VUVUZELA
The notoriously loud plastic blowing horns are a major part of South African football and it is from there that they have entered world popular culture. No matter what some might want to believe, it is the 2010 World Cup that brought us the vuvuzela. Non-South African soccer fans first seriously fell in love with the blowing horns during the Confederations Cup in 2009, which tournament was, in a way, part of the World Cup since it was a dress-rehearsal for the real thing to come later on.
And by the time the World Cup actually kicked off last month, vuvuzelas were the must-have supporting tool for any soccer fan. In Britain, the world cup has found its way into fans’ hands at cricket matches.
K’NAAN THE RAPPER
Early this year, the Somali-born Canadian
was just another rapper among a sea of good rappers the world over, until the World Cup beckoned, and FIFA co-sponsors Coca Cola chose his Wavin Flag song as their official anthem
for the tournament.
K’naan is now a world-renown star rapper. He remixed the originally political-oriented lyrics of the song into a celebratory tune and now Wave Your Flag is a favourite on many airwaves. The 31-year-old rapper is most likely to build further on the platform the World Cup has afforded him.
PAUL THE OCTOPUS
This octopus might actually turn out to be the most enduring legacy of the 2010 World Cup. Who will forget the eight-legged oracle from Germany who correctly predicted the winner in eight out of eight World Cup games, including the final match between Spain and Netherlands?
Who will forget seer Paul whom the Spanish prime minister volunteered to offer protection, after multitudes in his native Germany wanted to roast him for predicting a Spainish victory over Germany? Paul is now being sought to predict results in several major football leagues soon to kick off in England, France, Holland and Spain.
Other people are borrowing from Paul’s exploits to come up with their own sports-predicting animals such as rabbits and parrots.
A SCORE OF HIT SONGS
Along with new artistes and revolutionised old ones, the World Cup leaves us some great songs. Wavin Flag and Waka Waka (from the aforementioned K’naan and Shakira respectively) are undoubtedly the biggest of the pack.
Then there is Sign of Victory by R.Kelly and Everywhere You Go featuring Keri Hillson and a score of African superstars, including Nigeria’s 2Face and our own Jose Chameleone. Akon and Kelly’s Oh Africa perhaps did not become a big hit only because its sponsors were not part of the World Cup.
AN AFRICANISED SHAKIRA
Long before the World Cup, the sultry Latina’s innuendo- laden dance routines are what attracted us to her, much more than her sound and lyrics. Then the World Cup got the hip-shaker remixing one of Africa’s biggest tracks, giving us a new reason to love her even more.
Hearing Shakira sing Tsamina mina Zangalewa on primarily African beats is like hearing her proclaim that she has become one of us. For as long as the track is still popular on the airwaves, Shakira can bank on a new base in Africa.
NEW FAVOURITE PLAYERS FOR WOMEN
Forget David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Raul Gonzalez, Theo Walcott,
Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kaka. The African World Cup has left women with new favourite football
stars to fantasise about. If asked for their favourite footballers, many
women will now drop names like David Villa and Gerard Pique (Spain). Singer Shakira also likes them. Then there is Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos.
Since women consider success to be an important part of a man’s ‘hotness’,
Spaniards had to top their charts because they were the most successful
team in World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
Away from the Spaniards, the new ladies’ players include Uruguay’s Diego Forlan (voted best player at the World Cup), Ghana’s Kevin Prince Boateng and Asamoah Gyan, Netherlands’ Wesley Sneidjer and Germany’s Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Then, among those whose female fan bases were already big but have increased are Spain’s Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas.
FAN PARKS
And then there are the outdoor viewing
places where fans gather to view
matches, popularly known as fan parks.
Before the World Cup came around,
fan parks were entirely alien to Uganda
and we only heard that they were a big
thing outside our borders.
Now, several Ugandans know what
it is like to be inside a fan park. The
World Cup brought us two of them, at
Nakivubo Stadium and at the ill-fated
Kyadondo Rugby Club.
Fans watched the games in multitudes,
blowing their vuvuzelas, drinking beer,
eating muchomo and enjoying artistes
perform during halftime. Unfortunately,
the 7/11 bomb horrors that hit the
Kyadondo viewing place might have
meant the death of the fun-packed fan
parks shortly after their entry into the
country.