Soccer game at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa

Ok so first off, all of the videos I make are way too big to upload through this blog.  If I post any videos it will be on YouTube and I will be sure to put the link.  But a 4:30 1080p HD video takes 199 minutes to upload so I’m thinking I will have to make low definition videos if I want to post them before I get back. I have a video that is 15 minutes long of me going to a game in this stadium but won’t be able to post it. So frustrating…

So Kevin has a great tradition here that when there is a pro soccer game in Cape Town that he gets the volunteers together and we all pick one kid each to pay the admission fee for and bring them with us. 

Used to you could buy kids’ tickets for R10; less than $2.  “Peanuts, really,” as Kevin calls it and I agree.  However, when we went to this game the tickets were the same for kids and adults, R60.  So R120 is no big deal to pay, less than $20 to go to a soccer game in the same stadium that the World Cup was played in. 

I can’t resist going long without talking about politics and how frustrating the system is here in South Africa.  And maybe this is no big deal and I’m blowing out of proportion but I guess you’ll have to decide for yourself.  South Africa was awarded the 2010 World Cup and Cape Town wanted to host some games very badly, understandable.  FIFA said sure, but we want you to put the stadium next to the waterfront so that it is right by the ocean.  That way after a commercial break we (FIFA) can have a nice image of the city from a blimp that is going to make us mega bucks by paying for advertising.  That is not convenient at all, unless you are a tourist I suppose.  Then you can go next door and pay ridiculous Dutch prices at the waterfront for things no one really needs.  I’m getting sidetracked… Anyway!  So the stadium is in a bad place, got it.  Ajax (pronounced IX) Cape Town is Cape Town’s team for South Africa’s futbol league.  They don’t usually get to play in the Green Point Stadium, so this was special.

Since the World Cup was over, there have been a total of three, yes 3, games played in the stadium.  Forums and debates were held, taxes were raised and a huge stadium was erected to show off for the rest of the world.  Now, there is really no use for it.  It is a beautiful stadium but a complete waste.  Now what does this have to do with the prices?  Well now they have to jack up the prices so they can try to pay for having this stadium.  Consequently, fewer kids can go to the games.  So now this stadium is losing the city money and they are thinking about tearing it down.  I have no idea why they don’t play more games in the stadium.  I think it is because it will never be full enough to make any money.  It is built to hold 50,000 I believe, although they had extra seating during the World Cup that boosted that number to 80,000.  It just costs more money to operate than money than can make.  They should’ve figured they wouldn’t be able to sustain a World-Cup-like atmosphere forever.

If you watch the video you will see that they couldn’t even fill the lowest level of the stadium.  This was a big game too; two of the top four teams were going against each other.  I believe Kaiser Chiefs were number one, although they lost to Ajax.  There is a smaller stadium here in Cape Town that the city can usually fill.  I imagine it makes money because it costs less to operate.  Cape Town should go to a Royals game for a lesson on how to maximize a bad product for the best value to make the most money. 

So, as I come to a close on my rant I suppose my problem is basically two things.  One, a stadium that you didn’t need and obviously can’t manage is costing the city and its people huge dollars.  Two, to try and salvage what is starting to look like a bad idea more and more every day, they jack up prices to try and break even.  I understand that but now the kids can’t go to a game.  When the kids in the township found out we were going to a game we were flocked the whole day.  Everywhere we went, “Take me, take me!”  Well, sorry kid I would but you have idiots running your city and we can’t afford to.  The one thing they might be doing right is that they are talking of tearing the stadium down.  It is very embarrassing and humbling but hey I guess sometimes you just have to cut your losses and take it like a man.

TIA mate, This Is Africa.  Unfortunately sometimes this is the African way.  What do you think?  I would post the video but it was going to take over 5 hours to upload from the connection I have here.  It is obvious I have a bias and you can see it in the tone of this post.  Do you think this was a good choice for Cape Town, I mean it did make them quite a bit of money during the cup (but not as much as was hoped)? 

PS- Ajax Cape Town beat Kaiser Chiefs 2-1, it was a great game!  Oh and I forgot to mention.  I am really getting attached to certain kids here.  One is Gwenny and I can tell she really likes me as well.  I met her through the volleyball project that I do with the kids and she was the one I asked to go to the game.  She is a definite tomboy; in fact when I first saw her I thought she was a boy.  I saw pink on her socks and was so confused why a guy would wear pink socks.  Pretty much she loves soccer and playing sports and beating up on the boys.  I asked her to go and was surprised that I was nervous.  Do you remember that nervous feeling you get when you ask someone to come somewhere with you and you are afraid they might say no?  I think back to high school and asking girls on dates.  Well I was confused because now I was feeling the same way.  I was in a strange place, asking pretty much a stranger if I could pay for them to come to a game with me.  Her saying yes would mean we were friends, which is a big deal to me.  These kids like me but they see volunteers all the time.  I think making a real connection with a few kids is the best way for me to maximize my impact in their lives.  So I asked her but she said no, she had to go to church!  Wow, just my luck!  My first instinct was to talk her out of it because I wanted her to come very badly but I was like no way I can talk her out of going to church.  I felt like I had asked a girl out to prom and just been rejected.  But in a contest between soccer and God I can’t blame her for her choice. 

PSS- The soccer game was on Wednesday and two days later this past Friday after we were done with volleyball she came up to me and told me that next time she would come with me to the game.  I think I made a friend.