Wow, the media has been a buzz with reactions to Bafana Bafana’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of the sturdy Uruguayans last night. Radio talk shows, Twitter, Facebook and casual conversations have been saturated with a range of sentiment towards the local team and the supporters. The biggest topic, besides the team’s lackluster performance, has the been the walk-out of thousands of fans at Loftus last night.
Sam and I were at the game. Thousands of spectators literally stood up and started to file out of the stadium immediately after the second Uruguayan goal was scored late in the second half. We stayed behind. As the third goal was scored, many more thousands of spectators got up to leave. Were they supporters, or just spectators? Also, when I look at the negative sentiment directed towards those people who left early, I wonder how frail our patriotism is in South Africa?