Vuvuzelas - love 'em or hate 'em?

Football fans all over the world (including me!) have for a long time been eagerly looking forward to the start of the World Cup, taking place at the moment in South Africa (the first time the competition has ever been held in the African continent). To be honest, it's been a bit of damp squib so far: with one or two exceptions, most of the matches have been fairly unexciting. There have, however, been a couple of major talking points.

The first concerns the ball which is being used. Called a Jabulani, it is slightly different manufacture to the balls most teams are used to. Apparently it is lighter, and also rounder! The problem with it is that it is at times proving very difficult for the players to control. A number of goalkeeping errors and wayward shots have been blamed on the ball!

The other major talking point has been the proliferation of vuvuzelas. They are a kind of plastic horn which, when blown, emits a fairly tuneless whine. Watch or listen to a game from this World Cup tournament and apart from the commentator, more or less the only other noise is the constant vuvuzela whine. Apparently, many viewers and listeners have complained about this constant noise. I must admit to the noise driving me up the wall at times. There have been occasions when a goal has been scored and the cheering of the supporters has been drowned out by the hum of the vuvuzelas.

FIFA, the world governing body, has stated that on no account will the vuvuzelas be banned. Much as I dislike the noise, I believe that FIFA are absolutely right in their stance. The vuvuzela is part of South African football tradition, and what right do we have to try to ban it?

God's creation displays an amazingly rich variety, not least in human beings. The world would be so boring if we were all the same. How good it would be if, instead of complaining about anything we don't like, or standing against what is "different", we were able to rejoice in variety and differences and respect traditions other than our own. But please don't bring any vuvuzelas to the Keepmoat Stadium!