No booty is left unshaken.

I am invited to go to a local soccer game in Johannesburg with a group of Constitutional Court clerks.  Not wanting to waste a minute of my 201 days here, I quickly accept.  The experience is unforgettable.

 

We meet at the Court and leave in a "mini-bus" that they rented to take us to the game.  Mini-buses are the most common form of public transportation in South Africa.  Here's how they work: Drivers have a set route where they pick up and drop off people anywhere on the side of the road on their route.  Mini-buses are supposed to be dangerous, but I've seen them around and they seem alright.  The only danger I can imagine is suffocation since these 15-20 seaters usually transport around 30 commuters.  Noone is turned away.  Ours is a private rental...but there are still a couple of pick-ups.  No big deal.  It's Africa!

 

We arrive at FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer City, located near the Soweto area of Johannesburg.  With a capacity of 94,700, it's the largest stadium in Africa.  Its nickname is "The Calabash" (a type of African bowl), which it was designed and built to resemble.  It has hosted concerts (U2 - attendance: 94,232), the 2010 World Cup (84,000), rugby union matches (94,713), and regularly hosts local football matches between the Soweto based Premier Soccer League clubs, the Orlando Pirates (team colour: black) and Kaizer Chiefs (team colour: yellow).  This past weekend was the Pirates vs. Chiefs 2011 Final.

 

Outside the stadium, there is the usual sporting event grub - beer, hot dogs, popcorn - and some not-so-usual things - fried chicken and BBQd steak.  We walk a couple of kilometres to the stadium, grab a few beer, some food, and settle into our seats.  We're around 20 rows behind the Pirates bench.  The majority of the clerks are Pirates fans.  I decide that I am also a Pirates fan.  On the way in, there is a lot of team paraphernalia for sale as well as some free signs to support your team.  We grab Pirates signs.  From my seat, I look around me and see that we are the only people carrying black signs in a sea of yellow.  An African guy around my age sitting next to me says, "You are a Pirates fan?"  To which I respond "I think so?"  He says, "Well, it looks like tonight you are more Black than me!"  We mocked each other for the whole game after that.

 

The game is exciting, but not because of the players.  In fact, for the most part, the game is pretty uneventful with very few shots on goal and lots of faked injuries.  The excitement comes from the crowd.  Towards the end of the regulation 90 minutes, Bongani Ndulula heads what would have been a winning goal for the Pirates and then...Mayhem.  The Chiefs fans are furious.  Things are thrown.  Words are shouted.  Tears are shed.  I don't know what's going on (because all the shouting is in Zulu), but it seems that the goal is controversial.  It is.  The referee quickly disallows the goal on the basis that Ndulula pushed another player in the back when scoring.  Fewf!  Crisis averted.  Later, in extra time, Oupa Manyisa scores a long-range screamer to win the game.  I hold my breath waiting for the uproar.  But there isn't one.  The Chiefs fans clap politely and congratulate the Pirates fans on the goal.

 

The highlight of the entire evening (for me, at least) is the dancing.  As we enter the stadium, the first thing I notice is very loud African electronic music and lots and lots of booty-shaking.  Booty-shaking.  Booty-shaking.  Booty-shaking.  The enthusiasm with which the booties are shaken is unlike anything I've ever experienced.  Naturally, I got my booty going too.  No booty is left unshaken.  This one song starts and the whole crowd starts cheering and going into warp speed ultra booty shaking (I fear people are going to hurt themselves).  It's a good song, I guess, but I don't understand the full appeal until everybody sings along to the chorus: "I won't take your number. I'll find you on Facebook."  Seriously?  I love Africa.

 

After the game, the singing and dancing doesn't end.  Even the Chiefs fans are joyful.  Everybody dances inside and outside the stadium.  They notice we are Pirates fans and move in to shake our hands and even hug us.  It's only when we feel hands fishing in our pockets that we realize they're looking for some money in exchange for the hug.  Hugs for sale.  Fair enough.  It's Africa!  We learn to shake hands from a distance and just start dancing away from the hug vendors.  We make it back to the mini-bus and fall asleep during the two-hour traffic-jammed drive home.

 

Today, I leave you with the South African national anthem.  It's really beautiful and sung in South Africa's five most widely spoken eleven official languages: Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English.  My goal is to learn it before the end of September.

 

Language	Lyrics	English translation
Xhosa	Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika Maluphakanyisw' uphondo lwayo,	God bless Africa Raise high its glory
Zulu	Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo.	Hear our prayers God bless us, her children
Sotho	Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Setjhaba sa, South Afrika — South Afrika.	God, we ask You to protect our nation Intervene and end all conflicts Protect us, protect our nation, our nation, South Africa — South Africa.
Afrikaans	Uit die blou van onse hemel, Uit die diepte van ons see, Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Waar die kranse antwoord gee,	From the blue of our heaven, From the depth of our sea, Over our everlasting mountains, Where the echoing cliffs resound,
English	Sounds the call to come together, And united we shall stand, Let us live and strive for freedom In South Africa our land.