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The latest World Cup BZZZZzzzzzzzz … the Vuvuzela now has its own Twitter page

Jun 14, 2010, 1:00 PM EDT

23 Comments

This just in: FIFA has no plans to ban the Vuvuzela at this time, so it looks like our hottest-trending Twitter page, The_Vuvezula, will be around for awhile. It has 1,302 followers as I write this, up from about 800 a couple of hours ago. I sent The_Vuvuzela a direct message a little while ago, and actually got this response: BZZZZZZzzzzzzzz.
Awesome.
Questions and comments about the world’s most famous plastic noisemaker:

* Would FIFA be so reluctant to institute a ban if these were accordions?

* Could the Vuvuzela eventually infest American sports, like killer bees, or Posh Spice?

* Since when is not being able to hear TV commentators a bad thing?

* Could the noisemakers actually be driving down television ratings? KGO (San Francisco) Radio’s Ronn Owens said today that his family banished him from the house because he was watching Italy-Portugal, and the buzzing drove them crazy.

* Could there be such a thing in a soccer stadium as a Vuvuzela wave?

* Should my ears still be buzzing when the game has been over for 30 minutes?

* Will this noise affect the migration of geese?

* Beer bong? Why no, officer, I would never use it for that.

* Can also be used by really tall people as an oil funnel.

* If we all blow at once, Horton may hear us and save our world.

***
FIFA backs fans at blowing loud horns at Cup [NBCSports]
The_Vuvuzela [Twitter page]

Skip to Comments (23)
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  1. Carrie - Jun 14, 2010 at 6:09 PM

    Having attended two World Cups – part of the beauty of being in a crowd is actually hearing the “roar” and reaction of the crowd – they are a component of the game. When the vuvezela came along – all you hear is a boring “drone” of ADHD people just “droning” away. Please outlaw the vuvuzelas and allow the inter action between the players are crowd – part of the charm/excitement of being at the game.

  2. Dan the man - Jun 14, 2010 at 6:19 PM

    Vuvuzelas are boring. They are used by boring people. If you want to spend 90+ minutes blowing on something…. well let’s just say there are better times and places for that new found talent.

  3. Tucson Soccer - Jun 14, 2010 at 7:27 PM

    The best thing to do would to write adida and the other big sponsers and tell them straight out that you will not be buying any of their products unless they tell FIFA to stop the awful noise.
    There’s been 50+ e-mails from So. AZ. so far.
    Simple fact, the sponsors control the cup….not FIFA.

  4. anita - Jun 14, 2010 at 8:25 PM

    It is annoying indeed…

  5. carol - Jun 14, 2010 at 8:33 PM

    I agree that the sound of the crowd and their chants and songs are so much a part of the soccer scene and not annoying. Out of respect for other countries who don’t do the horn and as hosts to them, I would think that would be a factor in banning them.

  6. Christopher Short - Jun 14, 2010 at 9:18 PM

    BAN THEM, I can appreciate other peoples culture and desires to share that with the world. However, as a previous comment states, the roar of the crowd and the excitement of the fans is part of the pleasure of watching these matches. The ‘bee hive’ that fills every bar in Bangkok where I live is most annoying.

  7. gruntersdad - Jun 14, 2010 at 9:30 PM

    Agreed. I’m supposed to appreciate the culture and their method of celebrating but what the hell are they celebrating by blowing the damned things for 90 minutes? Being alive. When South Africa scores blow away but until then sit on the boring things. Four years from now and maybe a country that likes silence.

  8. Bob Dumon - Jun 14, 2010 at 9:50 PM

    I wrote to FIFA today and told them I’m not a soccer fan, but had decided to watch a few World Cup games to see why it is such a popular sport worldwide. Soccer, with it’s low scoring, is boring enough if one doesn’t understand the game (I don’t), and with the sound muted it is excruciatingly boring. With the sound on these matches are unbearable. I will not be watching this snoozer sport again until those horrible horn(et)s are banned! What annoying audible torture!

  9. Jurgen - Jun 14, 2010 at 9:52 PM

    I think the QQ-ing about the vuvuzelas is just another example of hypocrisy. There are countless examples of equally annoying displays of local culture the world over. South Africa hosting the world cup is a huge milestone in the quest towards a truly harmonious global community. The vuvuzelas are uniquely appealing to those who enjoy using them to express excitement and participation. The host country is South Africa this time, they do it their way, next time it will be somewhere else and they will do it their way, it is extremely arrogant for people from other countries to try to impress their will over another nations culture simply so they can feel within their own cultural comfort zone. How would anyone else like it if a group of South Africans came to, say, an American basketball game and began complaining to local politicians and organizers to stop the fans from doing the “wave” because it was distracting to them?

  10. Elvoid - Jun 14, 2010 at 10:15 PM

    If the world cup were in Scotland and everyone in the stands was blasting away on a bagpipe I’d tell them to shut the hell up, too. This kazoo on steroids is a joke.

  11. Paul - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:26 PM

    Culture or no culture that noise is a disrespect for the rest of the world. The continuous buzzing sound is more than annoing. It is disrupting and drowns the pleasure of watching the game.
    I deal with it by shuting the sound off, just video is on. And when commercials are on I leave the room. Because the advertizers condone the stupid sound I made myself a promise not to touch McDs and Buds, not to buy anything with Adidas logo. If the the big advertizers do not understand the worldwide level of anger for the game drowning noise they deserve a boycott. Same for the turism in South Africa. I recently returned from a two months trip to four countries in South America to be home in time for the World Cup.
    I was toying with idea that next year I should visit South Africa but now I don’t think I will. So…to FIFA and South African government: Enjoy your lousy stadium atmosphere!

  12. Jim - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:30 PM

    Someone is making money on these horns and thats the bottom line. They wont be banned!!!
    Extremely annoying!!
    Cant watch the games.

  13. jorge - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:37 PM

    I used the internal controls on my tv and adjust the Treble to zero. That dimishes the Buzzing sound to a very faint murmur and you can hear the commentators.
    Stop whining and watch another sport. If your passion is the Cup you don’t care. having attended the cup in 1994, I joined in the noise activities. I could not attend this year, but I want to buy my own Bubuzela to blow it in the streets of NYC when the police try to toe away a car. Sounds like a great tool.

  14. Kevin - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:43 PM

    I agree with Bob Dumon. Soccer is boring enough. Elite athletes competing 90 minutes to a 0-0 draw and being thrilled about is hard to fathom. I have only watched because the US team has a chance to advance in the tournament. At first I thought there was a problem with the sound on my TV. Now that I understand that this noise is deliberate and unending, I truly have no interest in watching. Someone should organize a time during the game when all buzzing stops and see if the athletes all stop playing and look up in the stands to see if the world is ending.

  15. jorge - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:45 PM

    just another thought about the Vuvuzela.
    The sounds drwons out the stupid commentators who turn my stomach with their regional tilt. I love and absolutely love to hear the people in the stands and the Spanish tv allows you to hear the crowd. If you want to be in a party, watch the Spanish Channel Univision and you get to watch gamnes for FREEEEEEE, with beautiful women and a party atmosphere all day.

  16. magdy seeam - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:50 PM

    The scientific method in the search, always obligate us to make one treatment with pettiness and greatest, and keep track of all of them in the search, so you should differentiate between freedom of the press in normal conditions and to be care off in exceptional circumstances

  17. kody - Jun 14, 2010 at 11:56 PM

    They do not do the wave for 90 minutes, or in such a fashion you can’t see the game. The horns don’t allow you to HEAR the game. I am sensative to other cultures but there is such a thing as too much… I mean realy, a whole month of this!!!

  18. Larry - Jun 15, 2010 at 12:01 AM

    mindless.

  19. Larry - Jun 15, 2010 at 12:10 AM

    Jurgen -
    This started at soccer games long before this World Cup. Also, the game and Games do not belong to South Africa, so their “culture” is irrelevant.
    “it is extremely arrogant for people from other countries to try to impress their will over another”
    Like the mindless drones do?

  20. Ronnie - Jun 15, 2010 at 12:27 AM

    Actually, once I realized what the sound being made was…I began to like it. It gives a sort of “tension” to the game. This is the way they do it in Africa, and I’m all for it. And not only the Africans are doing it. I see more than a few of the international attendees doing it as well. South Africa as the host country is showing out very well during this World Cup celebration.

  21. thinkaboudit - Jun 15, 2010 at 12:43 AM

    It’s not hypocrisy. All annoying practices are annoying, regardless of their origin.
    By your logic everything should be tolerated equally. If that’s the case, why are you complaining here?
    FAIL.

  22. HoHo - Jun 15, 2010 at 11:17 AM

    What is the use of the world cup in an African country if it is Europenized? It is an African world cup and should be done the African way.

  23. Poly Trumpet Love - Jun 19, 2010 at 8:14 PM

    I don’t know when soccer fans started playing these things, but when I was a boy (pushing 40yrs old now) going to the old NASL (North American Soccer League) games, we called them “Poly-Trumpets”. They are not indigenous to Africa, but the fans there (including lots of internationals) obviously love them and that incessant, numbing drone they create when thousands of people play them. Even as a youth I was soo bored of the sound I put a real trumpet mouthpiece in mine so I could get a few more notes out of it. I always thought their voice was limited, could you imagine a set of them in different sizes and pitches, like a nice big major chord? That might help to make the sound a little more pleasant.

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