Now that the Rugby World Cup 2011 is in full swing and our boys are doing well, I can’t help but cast my mind back to the exciting period that was the FIFA World Cup 2010, hosted right here in our very own backyard.

The excitement before and during the tournament was electrifying and everywhere you went, this feeling of unity, hope and joy just couldn’t be suppressed or surpassed. Truly this was one of the finest moments in our country’s history, or at least in my lifetime.

It’s a pity our boys couldn’t have achieved more in the tournament itself, but I remember watching each and every one of their games on the edge of my seat, and I can still savour that overwhelming feeling when Tshabalala scored that magical opening goal!

As it turned out, I only managed to snag tickets for one game, that game being the first round collision between Paraguay and Italy, played here at Cape Town stadium. Dean, Terrance and Damen made up the rest of our little group, and when the match day finally arrived (it felt like forever between getting the tickets and waiting for the actual game day!), it was off to the well-organised train station at Settlers High, and onto the train to Cape Town, before stepping off and heading straight into the bustling stroll through the Cape Town Fan Walk, all the way up to the magnificent, magical stadium itself.

The weather itself was unpleasant, a cold biting wind and rain that constantly threatened to come down, but after a fair (and noisy) wait in the security queues to get in, we were finally given the go ahead to stream into the grounds, marvelling at all the sights, sounds and colours that lay before us!

Our elevated seats were behind one of the goal posts, so perhaps not the best in the house, but just the experience was enough in any event. Sheltered from the miserable wind, we got to enjoy an engrossing game, vuvuzelas trumpeting and all, the result of which I can no longer actually recall! :)

(I think it was a draw to be honest, which would have been much to Terrance’s disgust and my delight!)

Anyway, our evening had been a fantastic success, as was the tournament as a whole, and as my memory of the events begins to fade, at least I have these few photos to mark the fact that I was indeed a part of the FIFA World Cup 2010 extravaganza! :)