World Cup: Rah Rah?

at least we know who to blame...

If you’re American, and so-so on soccer (those things may be closely related), but decided to watch the World Cup anyway, you’ve most likely heard the vuvuzela, the South African instrument whose loud buzzing sound most closely resembles that of an angry colony of bees. Maybe you don’t care about it, but then again, maybe it’s driving you crazy (or deaf, for fans attending the World Cup) and preventing you from joining the rest of the world in Football Mania.

Never fear, you’re not alone. Lifehacker linked to a guide that will help you reduce or eliminate the buzzing sound emanating from your speakers (fyi: the original guide is in German, so this link is to the Google translation). All that might be moot, though, because Host Broadcasting Services, which provides the worldwide broadcast feed for the World Cup, is going to filter vuvuzela noise as the games are broadcast, before the sound ever reaches viewers ears.

I wonder how the whole vuvuzela controversy will affect Neil van Schalkwyk, whose company has produced a quieter vuvuzela (it’s a whole 13 decibels quieter).