As with so many things in life, South Africans usually wait till the very last minute to get them done. The same can be said of getting excited about the World Cup.
I love sport, and soccer is no exception, but I only really got exited about the World Cup this week, when I was lucky enough to ride on the Mbombela bus to the furthest reaches of the municipality.
It was spectacular, stupendous, and very, very special.
In less than 100 days, South Africa will never be the same again! Soccer is played in every country in the world (with the Vatican the only exception), and every single one would sacrifice its gross domestic product to host such a magnificent event. The Olympics don’t even come close.
Why is it taking so many South Africans so long to realise this?
While dignitaries, some municipal workers and I were riding on a wave of optimism, one person was standing next to the road and unashamedly gave us the infamous thumbs-down sign.
Does he not realise how lucky he is? One day his grandchildren will ask him where he was and what he was doing during the World Cup, and he would have to lie to them...
"It was a great experience," he would say. "Our country showed the world a thing or two and I was there!"
Jose of Uruguay might have been just five when his country hosted the very first World Cup in 1930, but today (when he can find his teeth) he still talks about it incessantly.
The biggest spectacle in the world is darting ever closer and Nelspruit is part of it. Whether one likes soccer or not, this will in all probability be the highlight of our lives!
There is a time for criticism and a time for optimism, a time for silence and a time for vuvuzelas, a time for rugby and conversely, a time for soccer. These are the days of our lives and we should embrace them, because in a few months’ time it will all be over.
Perhaps Gautama Siddharta said it best in 500 BC, “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow...”
Woza World Cup 2010, Wozaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!