BAFANA BAFANA!

There was quite a little soccer buzz going about Kim this last week. The South Africa National Team made its first, only and possibly last visit to the Kim-City for a friendly match against Madagascar. Everybody we talked to in town was talking soccer and couldn’t wait to see “The boys, The boys” (BAFANA, BAFANA is the name of the National Side). Kimberley is predominately a rugby town and it was amazing to see some excitement around the national side. While standing in line for tickets a few days before the match I heard a man behind me say “I need to buy 500 tickets, there better be 500 tickets…everyone I know is coming and wants to see BAFANA!!!” Luckily I was in line in front of him and scored some of the last tickets for me and some of my friends to see the Boys! Kimberley’s Rugby Stadium holds about 20,000 fans and it was completely packed for the occasion. We spent a little too much time tailgating with some friendly locals and the only seats we could find were standing up right behind the Madagascar goal. In my eyes these were the best seats in the house. 15 feet from the goalie! It was like I was heckling him at a high school or college game. Within several minutes of us really getting into the game (and into their keeper’s head) there was a penalty for BAFANA!!! We nearly broke the screen behind the goal…so much pressure right in front of us…I couldn’t handle it. I was sure our persistent heckling would pay-off but to my dismay he made an incredible save diving to his left. Oh snap…we sadly walked away, our tail between our legs as security ushered us to find a little more legitimate seat. Bafana, ended up winning the game 1-0 as we watched the rest from the mid-field. Just a tiny taste of how amazing the World Cup will be!!!
In Grassroot Soccer news we have been working hard preparing for a SKILLZ Holiday Program. Castrol, the oil conglomerate has sponsored Grassroot to run 8 camps throughout South Africa and 2 of them are in Kimberley!!! It is a really exciting opportunity for us because we have the funding to take over 200 hundred kids around Kim through our HIV/AIDS curriculum. Check in for the full story in next weeks blogs. SALA SENKLE!!!

Hooter