The power of sport and sports psychology

As the 2010 soccer world cup draws nearer, life in South Africa is changing. For one thing, huge soccer balls keep appearing in public spaces. (There is one stuck into the OR Tambo airport building, and one in the microwave tower in Pretoria/Tshwane, and those are just two examples.) Miraculously some of the road works that we have been living with for what seems like forever, are nearing completion, and the Gautrain link between OR Tambo airport and Sandton has generated a bit of excitement all of its own. Will it be completed in time? First it was no. Now it is a definite maybe. It's a huge issue. And then there's the vuvuzela controversy. The latest country to voice their complaints over this instrument is Japan (and if you are in any doubt about how strongly people feel about vuvuzelas, check out the comments at the end of the article in the link.) Clearly, vuvuzelas are potent psychological weapons, and we should not underestimate the role of psychology in sport. Just look at how the Springboks performed after the unusual rendition of the South African national anthem on Saturday.

Labels: football, rugby, Soccer World Cup, South African national anthem, sport

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