Well I’m going to be honest from the start and admit that I am not a big football follower but I really cannot ignore the football fever that is spreading worldwide and can’t help finding myself a little bit whooped up in the frenzy of the world cup, if only for a month or so every four years!

As the first England game approached last weekend, I couldn’t help but notice the influx of Union Jack flags and the colours of red, white and blue around the island.  Whether you are showing your support during the world cup by merely tuning in to the England matches or hanging England t-shirts from each window in your house, or having a Union Jack shaved into your hair or painting your cows with an England flag, you simply cannot avoid the buzz that is getting the nations all fired up about Vuvuzelagate!

If you have not heard of a Vuvuzela, you obviously have not been watching any of the South Africa world cup matches yet as they cannot be missed!  A Vuvuzela is basically a three-foot long cheap plastic horn which when blown produces a loud buzz, similar to a swarm of bees.  They are commonly used by South African football fans to show their support during matches but it seems they are a bit of a culture shock to everyone else and have received mixed reviews.

They are currently causing a bit of controversy and football’s world governing body FIFA are being put under pressure to ban them to prevent annoying broadcasters, supporters and players.  However they are yet to rule them out insisting they are part of the South African culture and should be embraced as part of this year’s world cup.  Freddie Maake, who is believed to have invented them in the 1960s is also in favour of the Vuvuzela remaining a part of the world cup as they make South African football.

So whether you are in favour of the Vuvuzela, or not, they are here to stay, for the time being anyway, and are basically unavoidable.  If you are amongst those who think they spoil your viewing and should be banned, you might be interested to know that the BBC are currently considering offering its viewers the chance to drown out most of the stadium noise via a facility on the red button available to those with digital television. 

But if unfortunately you don’t have digital television, my advice would be to just get into the South African world cup spirit because if 'you can’t beat ‘em, you might as well join ‘em!’

Disclaimer:

Please note no humans or animals were hurt during the writing of this article, but we cannot be held liable for any temporary loss of hearing whilst watching the world cup!