bjtheman1
Bench Warmer
Forget what you heard about Uruguay’s Diego Forlan or Spain’s David Villa. This year’s World Cup belonged to the vuvuzela, the long, thin horn that makes South Africa brim with pride.
Americans and others don’t much like the thing. Never mind that it was one of the only symbols of popular South African culture in a tournament essentially run by corporate behemoths. Those things are loud, annoying, and hurt our ears, even over the television. They have to go!
Thankfully, FIBA has heard the outcry and banned all vuvuzelas from competition, including at the World Championships in Turkey:
The sport’s international governing body is urging fans not to bring the controversial instruments to games and warned that security staff will confiscate them. Supporters also face expulsion from the tournament’s five venues if they flout the ban.
FIBA is the first international sport federation to officially ban the vuvuzela from all of its events. The ban will also include pressure horns that can produce similar decibel levels and harm people’s health. […]
Patrick Baumann, the Secretary-General of FIBA and a member of the International Olympic Committee, said: “We want fans to enjoy themselves and make lots of noise but not at the risk of spoiling it for others.
This is good thinking: the horns are very loud, and indoors they have the chance to harm the hearing of everyone inside, including the players and coaches. Not only that, but it would be very difficult to talk during timeouts or communicate with each other on defense. That would hurt the quality of play, and no one wants that.
I suppose the fans in Turkey will just have to find a new form of widespread noise-making. Apart from yelling, I don’t see an easy option. But young Turks tend to be on the cutting edge, so I’m optimistic.
Americans and others don’t much like the thing. Never mind that it was one of the only symbols of popular South African culture in a tournament essentially run by corporate behemoths. Those things are loud, annoying, and hurt our ears, even over the television. They have to go!
Thankfully, FIBA has heard the outcry and banned all vuvuzelas from competition, including at the World Championships in Turkey:
The sport’s international governing body is urging fans not to bring the controversial instruments to games and warned that security staff will confiscate them. Supporters also face expulsion from the tournament’s five venues if they flout the ban.
FIBA is the first international sport federation to officially ban the vuvuzela from all of its events. The ban will also include pressure horns that can produce similar decibel levels and harm people’s health. […]
Patrick Baumann, the Secretary-General of FIBA and a member of the International Olympic Committee, said: “We want fans to enjoy themselves and make lots of noise but not at the risk of spoiling it for others.
This is good thinking: the horns are very loud, and indoors they have the chance to harm the hearing of everyone inside, including the players and coaches. Not only that, but it would be very difficult to talk during timeouts or communicate with each other on defense. That would hurt the quality of play, and no one wants that.
I suppose the fans in Turkey will just have to find a new form of widespread noise-making. Apart from yelling, I don’t see an easy option. But young Turks tend to be on the cutting edge, so I’m optimistic.
