Doubleheader at Cape Town Stadium (26 January)

Okay, so I am a bit of a soccer fan... After the spectacular World Cup, who isn't! I support the Ajax Cape Town team, Torquay likes Orlando Pirates (Johannesburg) and Shimbavi supports the Kaiser Chiefs (Durban). So you can imagine the competiveness when all three of us head out to watch a game!

Our whole group really enjoyed the 2010 Soccer WC while it was underway and we were very proud of the way that South Africa presented itself to the Sporting World, despite overzealous media reports of Doom and Disaster... And our group visited the Cape Town Stadium on several occassions, as well as the FanFest at the Parade.

So it was with a lot of expectation that we wanted to go watch the matches on themuch vaunted field of glory and headed out just after lunchtime to get there before the rush. Great thinking, as the streets were jammed solid like sardines and we eventually had to park down on the Beach Road... It was a long walk up to the Stadium and Torquay nearly got lost in the crowd of other spectators also trying to get to the stadium along the new arterial access boulevarde that the city had constructed as part of the World Cup preparations.

When we got to the entrance we were stunned by the number of people present and by the amount of noise from all the vuvuzelas, but there was no sign of any criminal activity, because the police presence was very visible. It was a lot of fun for us to chat and talk to the other people as we made our way through the gates inside and then headed over to the concession area.

Here is the only problem that we find with the stadium: the vendors are too expensive, their being conscious of the fact that they are in a protected environment and thus don't have to deal with competition. However, it stinks and the average soccer fan is the one that pays the price for these unscrupulous operators, which damages the reputation of the stadium. The customer is not stupid, they know when they are being "price gouged" and the stain will be on the Cape Town Municipality, as they will feel the effects when spectators stop supporting the stadium events so enthusiatically.

That being said, the stadium inside is still just as pristine and well maintained as it was during the World Cup, which is a very reassuring thing to see and the organisation is still of the highest capability. The access to the higher level spectator areas is somewhat steep, but not too arduous. Thankfully, there's no sign of deterioration in the walls or the flooring (despite the thousands of feet), which is a wonderful sight.


We were there to see Vasco and Ajax (Cape Town) in action (well at least some of us) and hoped that the coaches had done there homework, because neither of the other two teams were going to be walkovers. I had a bit of an argument with Shimbavi after she returned from the toilets completely stoned, as the stadium is not a place to flash contraband (particularly her Swazi Gold weed)! And the police are on the lookout for any criminal elements trying to gain access to the stadium as it is.

The first match was entertaining, as Vasco showed a great improvement from their previous display here and won their game. We were all somewhat worried about Ajax (Cape Town), as they didn't look so well prepared though in the end , they got the job done by scoring a number of goals.

It took us a long while to get out of the stadium and I had to hold on to Shimbavi, who was feeling the after effects of getting "smoked up", before the police noticed her behaviour and we had to keep the windows down on the oneside of the BMW M6, becuase she had gas from all the food she got from the concession area vendors. It was touch and go for a while, especially when Shimbavi lit up another weed cigarette and offered it to the other three women, who all proceeded to get stoned.

We stopped to fill up with petorl in Sea Point, where I boned Shimbavi in the front seat while the others were getting refreshments from the Express Shop. I know that it sounds bad... But there is nothing like a quick session of sex in the car, though the BMW M6 can be a bit cramped and I don't like getting stains on the seats or footprints on the windscreen. Shimbavi still had a grin like a Cheshire Cat on her face, when the others returned and even I had to chuckle, as they commented that the car smelled like a whorehouse! I will have to get the car steamcleaned in the morning before the smell gets ingrained.