…And then I booked my flight

It was a Wednesday. The Copa del Rey final had just finished. Sevilla beat Atletico Madrid in a pulsating game at Camp Nou in front of a packed crowd. I’ve always thought Atletico Madrid had rowdy fans, though I’ve never seen them live. Now I’m sure of it. Someone on Twitter in Barcelona said the Atletico fans outnumbered the Sevillistas down Las Ramblas by eight to one. Given the noise they made inside the stadium, I believe it.

Both teams left the game happy in some respects. Sevilla lifted the cup, but Atleti lifted a cup just days before that, beating Fulham to win the Europa League after extra time. When the Sevilla fans burst into a song of “Campeones” (as you do), Atleti responded in kind. “Campeones, campeones ole ole ole” screamed 80,000 people in unison. Romaric charged around the pitch celebrating with a blow up doll. It was emotional.

I watched the game with friends. One already had his flights to South Africa booked. Three other friends had booked their flights and tickets too. “You run a football website and you’re the only one of us not going” they teased. I brushed it off. But the words resonated inside me.

We got pizzas and washed it down with Budgens apple pie and cream (surprisingly tasty). As evening turned to night, everyone left my house and I was left in the living room on my own with the season all but over, nothing on TV and for company only some empty teacups, half a pot of cream and dirty plates. And a laptop.

Having a credit card is a dangerous thing. With one of those and a computer to hand you can end up in all kinds of trouble. Just ask Michael Owen.

“I wonder how much flights would cost,” I wondered. There was nothing on TV, and damned if I’m going to clean these dishes with a belly full of apples, pastry and Earl Grey. Let’s have a look. From flights I looked for match tickets. From match tickets to venues. From venues to accommodation. The next thing you know you’ve maxed out a credit card quicker than an England player’s girlfriend in a Manolo Blahnik store, you’ve booked the trip of a lifetime and have a million and one things to sort out, and that pot of cream is starting to turn a funny colour.

And that is pretty much how my own trip to South Africa for the World Cup 2010 materialised.

I have tickets to Ivory Coast v Portugal and Chile v Switzerland. Last time I checked some tickets remained, and as I’m going to be based in Port Elizabeth for a good chunk of the trip, I’ll try and get tickets to other games too, Germany v Serbia being a possibility. As well as continuing to write on Just Football I’ll be contributing to other publications while there too.

I’m very excited about seeing South Africa’s World Cup experience first-hand. We’ve all read the scaremongering, the horror stories about crime and poverty (less about the actual problems facing a complex society and it’s peoples, more in an ‘oh no isn’t it dreadful, what an inconvenience to our cosy middle class existence to have to be exposed to all that’ kind of way).

So I’m eager to be able to see and learn and draw my own conclusions on it all. As long as I can find decent internet connections and time, I hope to be able to humbly offer you those conclusions, as well as any other insights I gather as the tournament progresses.

While in Johannesburg I’ll be residing at the fantastic looking BallnKicka, at their Football Fan Village. It looks great, and will be a good chance to meet and interact with fans from around the world who are there to support their team (except North Koreans). Hopefully we’ll be bringing you an on-location podcast or two all the way from the Football Fan Village in South Africa too. We ran a test podcast last night, which I might throw up later.

So the tickets are booked and though I still have plenty to sort out, we’re about good to go. Sometimes the incredible hype around such an event can be overbearing (you should see the amount of PR spam in our Just Football email inbox), but it’s important to remember – this is a World Cup we’re talking about. The main event for any football fan. The pinnacle of the world’s sporting calendar. It doesn’t get much bigger.

Checking the latest news, Didier Drogba just got injured and is probably out of the tournament. Seeing as Ivory Coast are one of the teams I’ll be supporting I’m devastated. But as Sir Geoff Hurst* says, the World Cup is the birthplace of new football stars. And, of all people, he’d know.

As with several other nations shorn of key players through injury, Ivory Coast will have to rely on a new star to shine. And I’ll be there to witness it. Put that blow-up doll away Romaric, its over to you.

* It has been well over a week and I haven’t even mentioned I interviewed Sir Geoff Hurst yet, have I? Full audio of a compelling interview up later.

(Photo credit – eish ed on Flickr)

Announcements, World Cup 2010