Filling Stadiums With Sound of Vuvuzelas

PRETORIA, South Africa –- While many of the stadiums at the Confederations Cup have been half empty for matches, they often feel nearly full because of the dancing, singing and, especially, the horn-blowing of the South African fans in attendance.

UPDATE

Brazil 3, U.S.A. 0

The seleção Brasileira made easy work a U.S. side that was again forced to play a man short after a red card. Check back for Jere Longman’s report and player ratings from Jack Bell.

The plastic horns, known as vuvuzelas, give the impression of a hive of buzzing bees. Anyone who has been to Azteca Stadium in Mexico City knows the sound.

But some international television networks, and at least one Spanish player, have complained, calling the vuvuzelas intrusive and suggesting they be outlawed now and for next year’s World Cup.

Xabi Alonso, the Spanish midfielder, said after a 1-0 victory over Iraq in Bloemfontein on Wednesday, “I find these vuvuzelas annoying. They don’t contribute to the atmosphere in the stadium. They should put a ban on them.”

But Joseph Blatter, the president of FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, seems to be taking a different approach. “It’s a local sound, and I don’t know how it is possible to stop it,” Blatter told reporters. “I always said that when we go to South Africa, it is Africa. It’s not Western Europe. It’s noisy, it’s energy, rhythm, music, dance, drums. This is Africa. We have to adapt a little.”

Before Thursday’s match here against the United States, Brazilian radio reporters, who have been known to interview players on the field during matches, amused themselves by becoming human horns, impersonating the sound of the vuvuzelas to their audiences back home.