Uganda Cranes WE GO!!!

Celebration after the 2nd goal. (we are seated just above the fist of the player on the left)

On June 4th there was a soccer game between the Uganda Cranes and Guinea Bissau. This was no ordinary game, this was a qualifier for the African Cup in 2012. And to make the situation even more exciting and tense the Cranes have not qualified for the African Cup since 1978. We had been planning to attend this game since we first arrived in Uganda. Everyone was talking about this game and tickets were going fast. We tried to get tickets everywhere the week of the game when they went on sale but Lugazi quickly sold out of tickets. We tried the next town which is bigger but they had also sold out of tickets, so we headed to the game on Saturday without any tickets and we were going to buy them from people outside the stadium. There were only five of us that wanted to go to the game, so we all jumped on a taxi full of people in Ugandan uniforms and all blowing vuvulezas and headed off to Kampala for the game. The game didn't start until 4 pm but there were people already there partying and selling things outside the stadium when we got there at noon. We found some guys who were selling tickets and quickly bought them before the sold out. Then we bought some team gear from street vendors so we could support the team at the game. I couldn't pass up the chance to buy the infamous vuvuleza horn. At about one pm we decided that we should get into the semi formed lines and head in. There were literally hundreds of thousands of people outside the stadium and it was literal chaos trying to figure out where to get into a line. I just started standing next to a group of people and as they moved closer to the gates so did I and eventually I merged myself into the line. I kinda felt like we were this huge herd of animals trying to make it into this small opening. The closer we got to the main gate the more we were pushed on top of eachother. But for me that was half of the fun. It was a huge pre game party just waiting in the line and everyone was blowing the horns and yelling the team chant and giving us high fives. I was getting super excited for the game. Eventually we got into the gate and through the metal detectors and we were officially in the stadium and waiting for the game to begin.

First I think I should try and tell you guys just how the feel of the stadium is. Here in Uganda the stadium has two sections: General section and Dignitary section. The dignitary section has seats and is just one small section right at mid field while the rest of the stadium is the general section. Long, wide cement benches that go around the stadium. We just got general section seats and sat maybe ten rows up from the front near the corner of the field. Another fun fact about the games here is they don't make a certain amount of tickets, they just keep selling them until the game starts. This means that the stadium is literally packed beyond capacity. Even the stairwells and stairs going up the stadium were packed with people standing and cheering. We found our seats about 2 hours before the game started and the stadium was already half full. There were different artists on a stage singing and partying. I'm pretty sure our section was the "student section". Everyone was on their feet blowing their horns and dancing. Finally after two hours of yelling and dancing in the sun with everyone the stadium was packed to about 60,000 plus people and the game was set to begin.

The Cranes have a very good team this year. They are nearly as good as other big teams but here in Africa they are leading their division by a good margin and are very impressive. They dominated the ball through out the game and were in control the entire time. My favorite part of the game was when we scored, not only was it a good thing that we had the lead but the entire stadium would erupt and EVERYONE blew their horns or whistles and my favorite part is when the team scores everyone takes their water bottles and throws water everywhere. When we scored the first time you would have thought Shamu had swam by and you were in the splash zone. We were drenched. The game flew by and in the end the score was 2-0.. and the Uganda Cranes had WON!! This of course started another large party of dancing and horns and water throwing. We stayed for a few minutes but decided to avoid the insaneness of everyone leaving at once and beat the traffic. We had hired a good friend to pick us up in his taxi so we didn't have to wait for traffic or other people, which was really nice.

Overall, the game was a blast. I enjoyed being able to see an international soccer game and to feel the intensity of the crowd and hear the thundering noise of the horns. It was truly one big party the entire time and by the end of it my voice was gone and my lips were still buzzing from blowing the horn for two hours. But it was a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.