Bees Buzz the Other Way for Cameroon
PRETORIA — The World Cup produces odd scenarios. On Saturday night at the Cameroon vs. Denmark game, this is what I saw: the comic book type matchup of Olsen’s Eleven vs. the Indomitable Lions; a ball that consistently flew so high over the net for Cameroon that it looked like a rigged hot air balloon; a North Carolinian wearing a Baltimore Orioles hat sitting in the middle of a South African section that cheered exasperatingly for Cameroon; grown Danish men dancing in the middle of Africa with a sign that said “blow on my vuvuzela.” Impossible? Nope.
Listen from a distance, and the blare of a hundred vuvuzelas sounds like insects gathering in a horror movie. And what most all World Cup followers don’t know: the sound of the vuvuzelas actually represents the buzz of South African bees. The bees’ purpose: to fend away the opposition from scoring. For a crowd of mostly South Africans who came to support their fellow African nation, Cameroon, the mystique of the vuvuzela might have back-fired.
Olsen’s Eleven, the nickname for the Denmark squad coached by legendary player Morten Olsen, rallied past Samuel Eto’o and the Indomitable Lions 2-1 in Pretoria on Saturday. The loss officially eliminated Cameroon who couldn’t kick a rock in the ocean: 23 shots and golden opportunities literally every two minutes…. But only one goal to show.
Off a steal in the 10th minute, Samuel Eto’o, the Cameroonian striker, drilled home a goal in one of the best moments in African football history. The vuvuzelas buzzed loudly and the entire continent seemed to have Cameroon’s back on this day.
However, Cameroon’s next eighty minutes of headers, free kicks and squared-up strikes flying over the crossbar could equate to John Starks in his worst playoff games or Rick Ankiel’s wild pitch display in the National League Division Series. Shaking heads and heads in hands followed every opportunity that Cameroon squandered in front of the net. “X’s” signaling missed shots littered the simulated field of the Cameroonian shot chart.
It was only a matter of time until Denmark showed quality beats quantity. In the 33rd minute, Nicklas Bendtner silenced the “bees” easily sticking a cross in the Cameroon net for the equalizer. Then, Dennis Rommedahl showed how confidence should be shown in the box when he clinically bent a shot during the 61st minute that proved to be the game-winner.
Fifty-seven percent possession, 23 shots, seven corners and thousands of vuvuzelas for Cameroon meant nothing but what could have been for a talented team that seemed to outplay Morten Olsen’s team.
If you showed Olsen the stat sheet before the game, he would have been packing for Denmark. Instead, the Danish were enthusiastic for their three points, their team’s resolve and their good luck – something very important at the 90 minute by 90 minute crapshoots at the World Cup. The bees must have turned on the Africans on Saturday in Pretoria.
—Philip Deutsch
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