Soccer madness in a soccer-mad country

You'll be hard-pressed to find a pub or bar in Accra on a Wednesday night that is not showing a match of the English Premier Football League or any other regional match.

This is what we do here. We are keen followers of soccer, and true to form have been caught up in the fever of the 2010 World Cup; not only because it is for the first time ever being played on the Continent, but because Ghana's national team - The Black Stars have made it into the next round, a step away from the quarter-finals.

After watching South Africa's impressive play against Mexico, followed by our dissapointing display against Uruguay and our gallant slaying of the French, before bowing out in the first round; a first for any World Cup host - I am now proudly sporting the red, gold, green and black of the Ghanaian flag and hanging on tight to my vuvuzela.

The Black Stars have become Africa's only hope.

I went to watch the Ghana-Aussie game in a venue organised by the Australian High Commission and a number of other corporate sponsors and as well-organised as the event was, it was only when we were driving home did we get a full sense of the pride the Ghanaian had in the real celebrations were beyond the air-conditioned,catered event...on the streets where people's ears were glued to the radios and tuned into the live broadcast on BBC radio.

The Ghana-Germany game was a similar impressively organised event, with five large TV screen in an air-conditioned marquee...yes, an air-conditioned marquee, but once the game was over, pictures had been taken and people had finished sipping their wine and perfectly-chilled beers, the real celebrations were on the streets of Osu, where multitudes had turned out to watch the game on the impressively large screen set up by MTN for the World Cup games.

My message is- to really enjoy the World Cup games, lose the pomp, grab your luke-warm beer and vuvuzela and hit the streets, that's where the fun is.

We will be glued to our TVs for tomorrow's Ghana-USA game...and I will still be mulling over whether Bafana-Bafana could have done just a tad better if they'd had a more inspiring name.

The Black Stars' association is with their national flag; there is certain strength in that somehow. Now Japan's Blue Samurai's have gone on to defeat Denmark and make it into the second round...the word Samurai immediately conjures up images of sword-wielding, fierce looking warriors galloping towards their enemy. Even the Spaniards, despite their economic woes, have shown their Red Fury.

I feel that Bafana Bafana needs a stronger name to inspire, when we in future, which I firmly believe we will one day, have to face down Nigeria's Super Eagles or Cameroon's Indomitable Lions.

We own the Big Five for crying out loud ,that in itself is an endless source of potentially fierce-sounding names...frankly I would feel more intimidated facing down the the 'Raging Rhinos' than 'The Boys'.