Njabulo Ngidi: Spectacle derby has forgotten about the game
The fanfare surrounding the Soweto derby makes it bearable for fans at the stadium to stomach the constant draws because to most, football is secondary.
|||A part of me wanted to warn the couple just before the entrance of the FNB Stadium that they should eat their pizza outside because they won’t enter with it.
But I am not wired up like that.
Talking to strangers is too much work, so I just ignored them.
As expected, the security guards denied them, explaining that they couldn't enter the stadium with food from outside. It was a rookie mistake and showed that they didn't frequent the stadium often. That couple makes up 80 percent of the people who attend the Soweto Derby. They are either attending the match for the first time or it’s part of the handful of matches that they watch live in a season.
They are the people who view this match as an excursion more than anything else - a ritual and there are a lot of them. Some travel the length and breadth of the country, just to be a part of the spectacle.
And this match is just that, a spectacle.
From the large numbers that fill the stadium, to the half-time entertainment that’s become mandatory. This year there was comedian Skhumba. I don’t know what he was doing or saying because it was too loud. There was a giant phone next to him and some game that was played with dancers around. The most entertaining part for me was at half-time.
Two ball jugglers came and dazzled the fans with their tricks because the players just couldn’t take them to that level by producing a memorable game.
The fanfare that surrounds the derby makes it bearable for the people at the stadium to stomach the constant draws because to most of them football is secondary. It’s about snapping pictures to post on the different social media platforms and make their friends who weren’t there jealous.
It’s because of the spectacle that surrounds this game that people have high expectations.
They should lower that as an entertaining Soweto Derby in terms of football is like a lunar eclipse ... it rarely happens and when it does, it’s special.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Top Billing covers this game in the future because it’s more than a football match now. It’s an event. The vibe is always special. I stomached second-hand smoke in the stands. I figured since I don’t take good care of my liver, why should my lungs receive any special treatment because I was with two people who had never watched this game live in Johannesburg.
They left happy because they were part of the spectacle, not an entertaining football match.
@NJABULON
@extrastrongsa
The Star