We saw a rugby match and a cricket match soon after arriving in Cape Town. Those sports are uncommon in the US, so it was fun to compare them to familiar games—rugby felt “kind of football” and cricket “kind of baseball.” Since then I’ve learned both sports well and appreciate how different they are from American favorites. While watching rugby at our go-to restaurant I even won 100 Rand (about $10) by predicting the final score most accurately.
Another sports outing we wanted before leaving Cape Town was a match at Cape Town Stadium, ideally soccer. Opened in 2009 for the World Cup, the 55,000-seat stadium has a striking bowl-shaped design and sits near the V&A Waterfront, where my fiancé and I spend a lot of time.
We ended up at a match between Ajax (pronounced “eye-ax”) and the Kaiser Chiefs. The game was surprisingly popular because the Chiefs have a huge fan base. Even though Ajax is Cape Town’s team, roughly 70% of the crowd supported the Chiefs. Traffic and parking were chaotic, so we arrived about ten minutes before halftime. Tickets are for sections rather than individual seats; our section was packed when we got there, so we had to wait until halftime for a few seats to open up.
Fortunately we sat down just in time to see the match’s only goal—scored by the Kaiser Chiefs.
The match was more competitive than we expected. The Kaiser Chiefs clearly played well, and the atmosphere made the experience enjoyable.
I consider myself a sports fan: I enjoy American football, soccer, and tennis. I love attending baseball games even if I sometimes find the pace slow on TV, and although basketball doesn’t grip me as much, football remains my true passion. I miss catching Ducks games every Saturday and listening to them on the radio at odd hours, but that’s another story.
I didn’t get really into soccer until this year’s World Cup. With the U.S. having a real shot to advance, I became invested in the matches and learned to love the sport. What once seemed slow to me turned out to be anything but—so this match was especially enjoyable.
The fans were a highlight. Four boys in front of us, clearly from a youth Ajax program, sat beside a group of incredibly enthusiastic Kaiser Chiefs supporters. The young Ajax players had a rough day amid all that cheering.
A memorable fan wore a construction hat and a blanket cape—his energy was infectious and added to the fun of the evening.
Have you heard of the vuvuzela? That long plastic horn can be maddeningly loud. In the stadium it contributes to a buzzing, beehive-like sound that’s part of the spectacle. But when my fiancé unexpectedly blasts one, it’s startling enough to hide the horn or playfully swat him with it.
Some fans around us had enormous, colorfully decorated vuvuzelas—very entertaining from a distance.
Despite the hassles getting to the stadium and finding seats, Cape Town Stadium delivered a great experience. Beers were an astounding R20 each (about $1.50), which felt unbeatable compared with U.S. sporting events. Affordable drinks aside, the lively crowd, the stadium’s atmosphere, and the quality of play made the night memorable.
That said, American football still holds my heart.