Recap of the weekend games, plus, we meet Amrit Daya. At 79, Amrit is the oldest World Cup volunteer – he was born in the same year as the first-ever World Cup.

Sonny and Zakumi

Hey World Cup fans, I’ve fulfilled one of my major goals here in South Africa, i.e., I’ve met Zakumi, the playful and huggable official mascot of the football fiesta.

Zakumi is a ubiquitous presence at this soccer extravaganza, but he took a few minutes to meet me, pose for pics, and even offer some of his football insights.  Zakumi says he’s rooting for the South African team — no surprise there, right?

Magnus Chisom Onwudiwe, “The Humble Apostle of the Sonny Side of Sports,” writing from Imo State in Nigeria, says Zakumi is funny to look at.  And Sammy Bakare, another VOA listener in Nigeria, says he likes the pic of me and Zakumi so much that he’s going to make it his phone screen saver.

Sammy, just make sure you tell your friends that Zakumi is the one with the green hair.

I sat next to Alex Perry, Africa bureau chief for Time magazine, during Friday’s opening World Cup match between Mexico and host South Africa, which ended in a 1-1 draw.  Alex described the atmosphere in the sold out, 94,000-seat Soccer City Stadium as “perhaps the loudest football match in history.  It seemed like 94,000 fans were all blowing their vuvuzelas at the same time.”  It was definitely the loudest soccer game I’ve ever attended.  We were high up in the media tribune – my brother Ralphie would’ve called them “Bob Uecker seats.”  “Great seats, hey buddy?”

There were traffic problems getting to the stadium.  Some media friends from Globecast took me to their area across the highway from the stadium, where they had set up an area for reporters to do stand-ups, with the massive stadium as a backdrop.  I squeezed between a fence, and then walked about a mile on a dirt path, crossed a railroad track and then hoofed it up a hill to the stadium.  There were big traffic back-ups on the main highway to the stadium.

I’m writing this from Ellis Park, the venue for Saturday’s match between Nigeria and two-time World Cup champion Argentina.  I took a media shuttle to the stadium from my hotel, and there were no hills to climb.  Ellis Park has a seating capacity of about 65,000, so I don’t expect it to be quite as loud as Friday’s opener between South Africa and Mexico.

A look at how South Africa is welcoming the World Cup, including a recap of the kick-off concert, aired on today’s In Focus TV show.  Stay tuned for more Sonny Side of Sports video reports, live from South Africa, throughout the month.

Picture: Peter Morey/SAPA

World Cup excitement is building here in Johannesburg ahead of Friday’s opening match at the football fiesta between Mexico and host South Africa.  The South African team, nicknamed “Bafana Bafana,” was paraded through the streets of Johannesburg on Wednesday.  Car horns and vuvuzelas blared, and I could see many of the vehicles were adorned with South African national flags.

I arrived in Johannesburg on 8 June via a 16-hour Delta Airlines flight from Atlanta.  There were quite a few Mexican fans on the flight, and a few times they broke out in “Ole! Ole!,” as they looked forward to Friday’s encounter with the South Africans.

VOA Correspondent Scott Bobb and I attended a news conference Wednesday by World Cup organizers near Soccer City, the venue for Friday’s South Africa-Mexico game.  They discussed the 30-minute World Cup opening ceremony, which will feature nearly 600 artists, dancers, musicians and performers.  Among the performers who will be on stage are multiple Grammy Award winner R Kelly, South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and Nigerian star Femi Kuti.

“The Humble Apostle of the Sonny Side of Sports”

I got an email from Magnus Chisom Onwudiwe, a.k.a. “The Humble Apostle of the Sonny Side of Sports,” a devoted disciple of the show who is offering me prayers and safe travel wishes ahead of my first trip to South Africa for World Cup coverage.

The Humble Apostle is also saying a few prayers for “The Super Eagles,” the nickname of Nigeria’s national football team.  Magnus is hoping “The Super Eagles” spread their wings and fly high in South Africa.  “The Super Eagles” are part of a rich tradition of nicknames in African football.

I’ve always loved those nicknames.  Also in South Africa, we’ll see “The Indomitable Lions,” “The Elephants,” and “The Desert Foxes.” If you’re not a follower of African football, you might think you’d be seeing the lions, elephants and foxes on a South African safari, and not on a soccer pitch.

The African team nicknames do not appeal to everyone.  Former South African President Thabo Mbeki sparked a national debate when he said the 2010 World Cup host team should consider changing its nickname, “Bafana Bafana,” a Zulu phrase meaning “The Boys, The Boys.”  But, the nickname still stands, and when the World Cup officially kicks off on 11 June, most of the vuvuzelas at Soccer City Stadium will be blowing for “Bafana Bafana” when they host “El Tri” of Mexico.

I’m delighted to hear South Africa’s former President Nelson Mandela is planning to attend the World Cup’s opening and closing ceremony.  South Africa’s sports minister confirmed 3 June that Mr. Mandela requested and was granted tickets to the festivities.

Mr. Mandela’s family had previously said the 91-year-old South African icon was too frail to attend the first football World Cup held on African soil.

When I think back to South Africa winning the World Cup hosting rights in 2004, the indelible image is of a smiling Mr. Mandela holding the World Cup trophy.  His lobbying efforts on behalf of South Africa were crucial to the country staging the soccer extravaganza.

VOA's Chinedu Offor

In fact, my VOA colleague Chinedu Offor says he believes it’s primarily because of Nelson Mandela that South Africa is getting ready to stage the football fiesta.  “Without Mr. Mandela, there would be no World Cup in South Africa,” says Chinedu.