Vuvuzela: The Buzz of the World Cup
Deafening to fans, broadcasters and players, the ubiquitous plastic horn is closely tied to South Africa’s soccer tradition
- By Jim Morrison
- Smithsonian.com, June 08, 2010, Subscribe
Players taking to the pitch for the World Cup games in South Africa may want to pack some extra equipment in addition to shinguards, cleats and jerseys: earplugs.
The earplugs will protect against the aural assault of vuvuzelas. The plastic horns are a South African cultural phenomenon that that when played by hundreds or thousands of fans, sounds like a giant, angry swarm of hornets amplified to a volume that would make Ozzy Osbourne flinch. South African fans play the horns to spur their favorite players into action on the field.
“It’s really loud,” says John Nauright, professor of sports management at George Mason University and the author of “Long Run to Freedom: Sport, Cultures and Identities in South Africa.” “You can walk around with a pretty massive headache if you’re not wearing earplugs.”
A study in the South African Medical Journal released earlier this year said fans subjected to the vuvuzela swarm were exposed to a deafening peak of more than 140 decibels, equivalent to standing near a jet engine. The South African Association of Audiologists has warned they can damage hearing.
Noisemakers at soccer matches have a long history. Drums and chants are favored in countries like Brazil, where one of the popular teams has about two dozen distinct chants or anthems. Wooden rattles began making a racket at British soccer games in the early 1900s, a tradition that continued until the 1960s when fans began to chant and sing instead. Now there are dozens of new songs and chants seemingly every week. Some are adaptations of popular songs or old hymns. Some are profane taunts of their opponents.
Thundersticks emerged in Korea in the 1990s and provided the booming background for the 2002 World Cup in that country. (Thundersticks also made a brief appearance in the United States, most notably during the Anaheim Angels’ playoff run during the 2002 Major League Baseball postseason.)
In South Africa over the past decade, the plastic horns have become an integral part of the choreography at matches and the culture of the sport. When South Africa won its bid to host the World Cup in May 2004, Nelson Mandela and others celebrated with vuvuzelas. More than 20,000 were sold that day. It’s not just loud, but cheap (they cost about $7), and it has become ubiquitous at South African soccer matches. The official marketing company for the horns says it has received orders for more than 600,000 in recent months.
“This is our voice,” Chris Massah Malawai told a South African newspaper earlier this year while watching the national team, Bafana Bafana (The Boys, The Boys), play. “We sing through it. It makes me feel the game.”
After the 2009 Confederations Cup soccer matches in South Africa, FIFA, the governing body for the World Cup, received complaints from multiple European broadcasters and a few coaches and players who wanted the vuvuzela banned. Fans on both sides argued heatedly on soccer blogs and web sites. Facebook pages both to ban the instruments and support them sprang up. One opponent in a South African newspaper suggested opening the World Cup with a vuvuzela bonfire. Others staunchly defended their beloved instruments. “The vuvuzela is in our blood and is proudly South African,” one wrote in a Facebook discussion. “They should leave us alone. It’s like banning the Brazilians from doing the samba.”
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Comments (25)
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Even though the noise is irritating but it is Africa's World Cup.Let them enjoy it.To ban it or not to ban it,we should look for the bad sides and good sides.
Posted by Fiona Santiago on August 19,2010 | 09:42 AM
The noise is awful~But still acceptable~
Posted by Summer on July 9,2010 | 12:24 AM
I'm not sure if the vuvuzela's sound is less now (than at the start of the games) or I'm just getting use to them... but I "almost" like it now. At least now I don't feel like my ears are going to bleed.
Posted by Frankie Salvaggio on June 26,2010 | 07:04 AM
Culture!!! Perhaps refer to a dictionary.
My arse has more culture than any plastic horn and is capable of more than one note!
Posted by Dave on June 18,2010 | 06:31 PM
The vuvuzela is being utilized by the CIA to test mind control on a massive scale. The messages being transmitted are subliminal and coded deep within the ubiquitous drone. I was watching Brazil v. North Korea when I discovered the key to unlocking the code. First: turn up the volume on your TV until the the hairs on the back of your arm stand up. Next: close your eyes to block out any exterior distractions and focus your complete attention on the buzzing cacophony until all other noise is excluded (including the commentators). Tap your foot to a slow but steady 4 count and gradually speed up. If done correctly the secret instructions will form an identifiable prosodic contour - in this case four simple syllables. The test message being broadcast throughout every match in the tournament (thus far) is: watch/ more/ base/ ball.
I believe that the government is exploiting this opportunity to test the vuvuzela as a possible masking agent in concert with more advanced mind control technology. Proof of the experiment's efficacy may lie in the fact that after 10 minutes I experienced an irresistible compulsion to switch channels and watch baseball - interleague baseball!
NEXT: Is FIFA the unwitting dupe of the CIA/MLB/ESPN triad and how much does Obama know?
Posted by Zmansf on June 18,2010 | 02:40 PM
No one, especially me, wants to offend South African culture. I'm thrilled they were chosen to host the World Cup, but I feel that FIFA has let them down in many ways.
I think there was guidance needed regarding the vuvuzelas. Maybe FIFA didn't realize how thousands of the horns would sound inside a stadium, and rightfully defended the cultural right to use them. The horns have been especially awful on American television as ESPN does not seem to have filtered them any. European and the BBC stations have done this fairly successfully. In essence, the horns have had a much larger impact on viewers everywhere than FIFA ever thought.
Of course, it is too late to ban them in the stadiums. Backtracking on the decision would be demeaning to the people who feel the horns are their football culture. If FIFA and Sepp Blatter care as much about the overall culture of football as they do about making money, some type of diplomatic solution would have worked for everyone.
South Africans are some of the most graceful people I've ever met. Their elegance in the face of the Uruguay match red card was symbolic of that grace to me, and while there is still a cry to be heard in South Africa, I honestly don't think they want the vuvuzela to be what people around the world remember.
Posted by SackSepp on June 17,2010 | 08:22 PM
The vuvuzelas and those choosing to play them could have been a perfectly fine part of the world cup crowd. This is if certain conditions were met.
A)They were played only during KEY parts of the game. Goals, great near goals, great saves by the keeper. Give their use meaning.
B) Try to be musical with them. Unless "Constant buzzing noise in the key of B" is some award winning song, try to make it a musical experience. Or at least try to stick with A.
It's a great musical culture. Dancing, singing, chanting, so why are the people of SA downplaying that for these plastic horns that seem to be annoying most of the world cup watching world? Show us your tradition and culture and in turn enjoy the rest of the worlds. Its why they're in your stadiums.
Posted by Ryan on June 17,2010 | 08:15 PM
All I'm hearing is a bunch of sore losers prattling on.
Posted by El Culturebug on June 15,2010 | 01:20 AM
South African tradition, really? We had them in the American midwest in the early 1970s. I call B.S. on this "tradition" claim.
Posted by Tom on June 15,2010 | 04:01 PM
The there is a time and place for everything. The constant buzzing is so annoying I have not be able to enjoy a single game for more than a few moments. It's a shame this sort of firestorm has started over what should be a matter of common courtesy. Why not start and end the game with the blowing of the horns? Why the need to shove the constant barrage of noise on all of us all during the game?
Posted by Julianne on June 15,2010 | 03:57 PM
I like Vuvuzelas http://audioblog.arteradio.com//esprit-des-lieux/frontUser.do?method=getPost&postId=3042373&blogName=esprit-des-lieux
Posted by georges castagné on June 15,2010 | 01:18 PM
Vuvuzelas are not 'REALLY' a South African tradition or part of their culture. This is not something that has passed down from the elders or through the generations... it is only about 15 years old.
It is as much of their culture as swinging a rally towel is in the United States. As much of a tradition as having a foam #1 finger or blowing an air horn. Boo-hoo.
FIFA and South Africa are trying to make this a successful World's Cup. This has to be done through experience for the people in the stands and, as important, a HUGE world viewing audience.
Unfortunately, you cannot turn off the horns and still listen to what the announcers are saying on TV. Maybe the broadcasters could do that, but it still negatively affects the teams, refs and other NON-vuvuzela fans in the stands.
Banning the horns would allow for normal fan participation... yelling, cheering, booing, chanting, singing, stomping... but no, it is the constant drone of waaaahhhhhhh...
I am watching less games than I had planned because I cannot stand that constant drone.
Ole, ole, ole, ole...
Posted by Tom on June 15,2010 | 01:07 PM
Empty cans make the most noise.
Posted by Herc on June 14,2010 | 01:53 PM
African music, dance and beautiful bright clothing are wonderful. And I am all for the cultural aspects of the vuvuzela. Unfortunately, I find the buzzing sound so irritating that I don't like to watch the games. And soccer is so cool. I've never been fond of the sounds of an American football game either.
Posted by Karen on June 14,2010 | 07:28 AM
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