after two heart-wrenching notices of 'unsuccessful' applications for fifa 2010 tickets (one rejection in phase 1 and one rejection in phase 2) i had begun shaking my fists at the heavens. my ire should have been directed less upwards and more westwards... as it turns out, in a clear indication of growing american interest in the beautiful game, team specific tickets (tst) for the united states (usa) are the most sought after tickets for 2010. south africans are the only nation to be buying more tickets than usa but, by my estimation, the south africans aren't purchasing bafana bafana tickets but instead stadium specific tickets. remember, this is a big country. would someone in california apply for a game that might take place on a wednesday in new york?
this news about a mass yankee migration made me decide to seek out a new direction. i'm happy to report that, after adopting the same strategy that earned us tickets in germany for 2006, i have finally tasted success.
i was quickly awarded (at category 2 seating no less) the first four matches for...
SOUTH KOREA!
...and yes, yes... the fourth match is assuming s.korea makes it out of the group stage...
but regardless, the day after i paid for the tickets s.korea beat the u.a.e. to guarantee their place in south africa... so it is on for 2010.
the next step is to wait. it won't be until october that the qualifying matches will conclude and then the first week of december will see the draw.
until then we can only hope (for our sake not the s.koreans') that spain, the netherlands and usa end up in their group and that the games will be played in durban, cape town and polokwane.
time to get it on. no choice but to get it on.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
In Other Soccer-Related News:
a week from today starts the fifa confederations cup. for me it'll be an excuse to enjoy a four-and-a-half day weekend in joburg. for the participating teams it'll be an invaluable opportunity to see what the climate is like this time of year in south africa as well as to get a feel for the grass (meaning the sod, not the durban poison). it'll also be a chance to get a feel for playing in a stadium filled with the noise of drums and vuvezela.
In Other Soccer-Related News:
this saturday saw the first ever inter-office soccer match for SSI in kzn. the idea has been around for some time but never was acted on until a fortuitous project meeting where i needed to use our environmental branch to report on the ecology of a job site.
when, kushela, the environmental consultant that was assigned to the project mentioned that he played soccer, the discussions for a derby began.
in the following four weeks, to everyone's benefit, kushela took the necessary initiative to organize a field, food, drinks and his eleven-man durban side.
unfortunately, pinetown seemed to use up all their energy in the preparation for the match and had none left to use on the pitch. at the half, several mercy acts were enacted to reduce the amount of goals being scored by maritzburg. these acts involved:
- giving them some of our players
- making me a striker
when, kushela, the environmental consultant that was assigned to the project mentioned that he played soccer, the discussions for a derby began.
in the following four weeks, to everyone's benefit, kushela took the necessary initiative to organize a field, food, drinks and his eleven-man durban side.
unfortunately, pinetown seemed to use up all their energy in the preparation for the match and had none left to use on the pitch. at the half, several mercy acts were enacted to reduce the amount of goals being scored by maritzburg. these acts involved:
- giving them some of our players
- making me a striker
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