Without being too prejudiced, I can safely assume that some of you have little clue about why these 22 people in two distinct color starts chasing something called Jambura..err I mean Jabulani after a whistle is blown by another different colored guy called a "referee". No, this referee has no business with giving out references, nor do they need any.
To the people who have recently came from Mars to visit planet Earth and has no clue about the Beautiful game, here's my short list of "must know facts".
1. Vuvuzela
What the hell is this? Is it an obscure "Jela", i.e. district of Bangladesh? I got this response when I asked this question to some of my family members. No, it is not anything like that.
"Sometimes called a "lepatata" or a stadium horn, Vuvuzela is a blowing horn, approximately one metre in length, commonly blown by fans at football matches in South Africa. They require some lip and lung strength to blow and emit a loud monotone like a foghorn or an elephant."
So it's basically a very loud horn that makes an elephant like sound. When I first heard the sound during the opening ceremony of the world cup, it sounded to me like thousands of white blistering mosquitoes are horrendously humming, but apparently wikipedia thinks it's elephant, not mosquito, and of course wiki knows better....
2. Jabulani
No it's not really a Jambura (a south asian fruit), but instead it's a football. Yeah, the football that is played with the feet, not the ones you carry with and run like crazy bulls towards other crazy bulls (rugby/american football/boring stuff/NRB wannabes, etc. etc.).
The Adidas Jabulani is this year's football. It will be used in all the matches of Fifa world cup 2010. Most of the goalkeepers think it's a terrible ball, while some famous players (among which some has Adidas as one of their sponsors) have publicly praised the ball.
How is it made? (does anyone care?):
"The ball is constructed using a new design, consisting of eight (down from 14 in the last World Cup) thermally-bonded, three-dimensional panels. These are spherically-moulded from ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). The surface of the ball is textured with grooves, a technology developed by Adidas called GripnGroove that are intended to improve the ball's aerodynamics. The design has received considerable academic input, being developed in partnership with researchers from Loughborough University, United Kingdom."
So it's a science "ball" made with a lot of alcohols and these balls are 3D! Wow, after Avatar 3D, here comes 3D balls. This is the era of science indeed.
By the way, these balls are made "in China, using latex bladders made in India, thermoplastic polyurethane-elastomer from Taiwan, ethylene vinyl acetate, isotropic polyester/cotton fabric, glue, and ink from China", so every time Messi/Kaka/Mama/Chacha/Ronaldo is kicking a jabulani, he is actually kicking an Indian bladder (lol).
3. Waka Waka
If you are not doing the Waka Waka yet, you ain't got no life, fool!
"Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" in English, and "Waka Waka (Esto es África)" in Spanish is a song by Shakira featuring Freshlyground. The song will be performed by Shakira and South African group Freshlyground, at the Closing Ceremony before the World Cup Final on July 11 in Johannesburg Soccer City Stadium
"Waka Waka" was written by Shakira and John Hill and co-produced by John Hill. The track, samples the chorus of the 1986 Cameroonian hit song "Zangaléwa", by Cameroonian band Golden Sounds, features Afro-Colombian instrumentation, Soca beat and South African guitars.The song was also based on Waka Waka by the Surinam-Dutch group Trafassi. The song consists of rhythmical African sounds, and represents the vitality and energy of the host continent. Indian music composers Salim and Sulaiman Merchant also collaborated with South African singers Loyiso Bala and Eric Wainaina to record the anthem for FIFA World Cup 2010
Damn, Indians again. They are taking over the world. They want the world and they want it now!.
Anyways, it's a catchy song with a nice beat. Even if you're a heavy heavy thrash metal fan who can't walk a moment without banging your head, you should try seeing, err I mean listening to this great song by "Shake"ira. You can at least check out the videos....
That's all for the time being. More to come...
2 comments:
LOL DMR, you are back!!!
Loved reading it, and about vuvzela, the reviewers have not spent evenings in Dhaka, getting bitten by mosquitoes and listening to that annoying humming noise, so I guess they are missing the connection
Thanks for reading April...nobody reads my blogs anymore. In fact I think blogging is out of fashion as a whole. btw which team you are supporting this year? Aussie ra to chorom dhora khailo Germany'r kase :P
Post a Comment