Archive for the ‘2010 World Cup’ Category
Let’s get behind England…..
….No, not those good-for-nothing footballing scoundrels who broke our hearts this summer. The England I am referring to are the England Women’s rugby team who, as we speculated last week, have made it to the final of the World Cup. A very physical and somewhat scrappy encounter ended in a 15-0 win over Australia in [...]
What? The football’s on already?
Weirdly depressing isn’t it? No? Just me then. Yes, I know it’s as strange for me to say as it is for you to read but I am just not enthused about the upcoming football season and ironically I blame the World Cup. Being in South Africa (we went, in case you hadn’t heard….) meant [...]
The Cup of plenty? Not if you ask Cape Town’s taxi drivers
The 2010 World Cup was never simply about the football. It wasn’t about the defensive tactics or even the vuvuzelas. What is was about, and what made the first African World Cup supposedly so special, was the legacy FIFA would leave when the 32 countries packed up their bags and left South Africa. The Rainbow [...]
Is sport more about the tale than the truth?
Sport often provides us with the kind of battles, struggles and confrontations which make for the basis of a great story and therein lies one of the main attractions of being a sports hack. You get a front seat to some of the greatest shows of triumph and despair and then you get paid to [...]
Under par performance: A 32 FC full time report
If Pope and Swift were handed a school style report regarding 32 FC, our self-imposed challenge to get a photo with every set of World Cup fans whilst in South Africa, it would read ‘Could do better’. For the full set of photos from our attempt at the 32 FC go to www.flickr.com/popeandswift but don’t expect [...]
Defensive midfielders decide World Cup winners
The 2010 World Cup has demonstrated, above all else, the importance of the humble defensive midfielder. The teams that have prospered in South Africa have been successful because they have had two quality defensive minded midfielders committed to breaking up the play, playing the simple pass and taking a foul or two. In Johannesburg tonight, the best two [...]
England’s number one fan
Forget the face painted child and the balding middle aged man, belting out God Save The Queen; England’s number one fan, Pope and Swift have learnt, is sitting warming their bench. You might not see his agitated demeanour or anxious behaviour on your TV screens at home but from the stands, you can really see that Joe Cole wants [...]
Stop the whining and start winning
Standing in the Nelson Mandela stadium in Port Elizabeth yesterday amongst a crowd of England supporters dripping in sweaty anxiety and relief I was surprised at how I lacked these particular feelings. Instead I was remarkably unsurprised at England’s progression. I can honestly say, with hand on heart, that I believed through the whole 90 [...]
Is a good party all about the host?
During our travels in South Africa, Pope and Swift have had many issues to contend with, both relating to the football and South Africa itself. Sometimes we find answers to our questions, such as finding out that Bafana Bafana roughly translates as Boys Boys, as in the team are ‘our boys’. In other circumstances we are [...]
A slow start: A 32 FC halfway update
Two weeks ago, Pope and Swift set ourselves a challenge, the 32 FC (32 Fan Challenge) to be precise, the aim of which was to get a photo of every set of World Cup fans with our very swanky banner in what must be the most inexpensive marketing campaign ever seen. ‘We have a whole month to [...]