A day at Soweto's sparkling Soccer City

90,000-seat Johannesburg stadium is the new Mecca of the soccer world

By BRIAN LEVIN
311_soccer stadium (photo credit: Associated Press)
311_soccer stadium
(photo credit: Associated Press)
JOHANNESBURG – Sunday night was incredible, as we headed off to our first live game between Argentina and Mexico at Soccer City, the revamped 90,000 seat stadium in Soweto.
Before we went to the game we spent time at the flea market in Rosebank and kitted ourselves out with our almost essential Vuvuzelas.
This is a plastic horn that plays but one note and which the South Africans hoped would bring the other teams down, like the walls of Jericho.
Afterwards we went to this lovely kosher restaurant and the boys all ordered mixed grills, which is not a Meurav Yerushalmi.
It’s a sumptuous meal of all the healthy, cholesterol-free foods one could wish for, such as steak, ribs, boerewors, eggs and chips.
That night we watched the England- Germany game on TV, which was a major disappointment, as we were all rooting for England.
Now we were worried, as we were running late to get to our game in Soweto at the Soccer City stadium.
But no sweat, we made it in time as the organization was like Swiss precision.
Soccer City is the nicest stadium I have ever visited. The organization was superb and, despite the huge crowd, the stadium emptied out easily.
We did have to walk about three kilometers back to the parking lot, so we did at least get some exercise getting to and from the stadium.
Hundreds of buses shuttle the fans to and from the park and there is also a train station nearby where fans use their game tickets to ride free to the city center and even on to Pretoria, some 80 kilometers away.
The game was fantastic and the atmosphere was the best I have ever savored.
We got back to our homes in the most amazing spirits. It was so hard for me to fall asleep as the adrenaline was still pumping through my body.
Monday morning I took the guys to the best science museum I have ever been to, called Beer World, where we learned about the history of beer and the beer manufacturing process.
We got to taste sorghum beer, which is a thick, pink drink and a staple food among the local black population.
The museum has 3D effects, and the latest technological equipment. The tour ended with a few complimentary beers in the museum’s pub.
South African beer is renowned as some of the best in the world. This whole experience cost us each the princely sum of 30 rands (NIS 15).
I could go on forever, but we do not want to miss tonight’s game between Brazil and Chile at Ellis Park.