I am no fan of watching sports. Sports should be played, I say! However, I'm no good at soccer (or basketball, or hockey, or lacrosse, or tennis, or golf, or... you get the idea), so I suppose watching is the best I can do. In my opinion, of all the sports to watch, soccer is one of the most exciting. As opposed to, say... sport fishing (no insult intended to sport fishers).

I have not been watching the World Cup matches, only the summaries. In all the screen shots I've seen, I've yet to see or hear a single vuvuzela.

These plastic instruments, about 70cm long emit a loud blast, amplified exponentially when thousands of rabid fans play them continuously in an enclosed stadium, all at the same time.

Vuvuzelas were vilified during the 2010 World Cup matches. It was said that those horns disrupted players' concentration, damaged the hearing of spectators and interrupted match broadcasts.

At the height of the controversy, FIFA proposed a ban on these colorful instruments but South African football authorities averred that vuvuzelas were a part of the South African football experience. A part of the fallout of vuvuzela disdain resulted in a ban in several stadiums: Wembley and Melbourne among them, and at other sports events: all Ultimate Fighting Championship matches, for one. Because of its negative perception, protesters like to use them at assemblies.

I contend the vuvuzela was impactful in the extreme. After all, that controversy made headline news and claimed the attention of a non-sports watcher like me. Even 4 years later I remember those monotone horns, but I couldn't tell you who took the cup. Is there anything that impactful this FIFA season?

teamkrejados

(Opinions of the writer in this blog don't represent those of China Daily.)