Nothing beats the feeling of being at a live sports event, especially one as big as the World Cup. Crowds throng into the event and are met by a massive buzz of excitement and anticipation of the kickoff, and depending on the venue, supporting fans get together in different parts of the stadium readying their flags and chants for when their team is winning.
Once the game gets underway the excitement grows, and as the tackles fly and the emotions get going, so does the crowd. Each shot at the goal is met with anticipation and often oohs and aahs when the goal is missed, and if your team is lucky enough to score, the stadium can erupt with cheers, shouts, screams and even tears.
Let's not forget the constant boos for the referee when each team's supporters disagrees with his decisions. When playing a rival team or country, Ireland vs. England, Celtic vs. Rangers, Man Utd. vs. Man City, there are also songs and chants that can be heard above everything else.
It is an atmosphere that can get the hair tingling on the back of your neck, your heart pounding faster than it should, and the adrenaline pumping through your veins as fast as that in the bodies of the elite athletes on the field below, even if you are not a supporter of either team.
This atmosphere can be replicated somewhat in the comfort of your own living room with a nice big TV and the sound turned up.
But all that has been muted so far in this World Cup, especially for those of us who have been relegated to watching the games on TV. There is no atmosphere, unless you consider what appears to be a wasp's nest inside the screen as atmosphere.
The vuvuzela has taken over the biggest sporting contest the world has to offer and the prats at FIFA are unwilling to do anything about it. The constant drone of these nasty items has caused many a viewer to either turn the TV down or turn it off, which could eventually hurt FIFA in its pocketbook.
One of the nice things about watching the games at home is that you can get up to make a cup of tea, a sandwich, or go to the bathroom, not to mention the money you can save not having to buy flights and hotel tickets to one of the most dangerous continents on the planet. If, at times your eyes are off the TV, it is easy to hear the crowd ooh or aah or shout when something exciting is, or has happened.
You can then rush back to your seat for the replay and finish squeezing the tea bag at a later time. But with these bloody plastic trumpets constantly causing more than one viewer to make sure their Epi-pen is at hand, you will never know if you missed something exciting, and will finish squeezing the teabag and pouring the milk into your tea only to go back to your seat to find England has scored two more goals against Brazil to win the World Cup final. OK, we all know that is never going to happen, but you get the drift.
The vuvuzela, so revered by South African spectators, is so annoying, some TV stations are taking to using filters to minimize the aggravation on the general population. It will be a welcome addition that will hopefully subtract from the constant thought of being attacked by swarming bees in your own living room.
If only we could get some of these filters for city hall.
However, it is a sad thing to have to say that the talking point so far has been the vuvuzelas. There hasn't been much else to write home about, but maybe as the African teams drop out of the competition at different stages, as they are wont to do, the drone will get quieter and quieter and finally allow us to experience this event as it should be; loud, exciting, nail biting, and with absolutely no time to even think about putting the kettle on.
