We go, we go, Uganda Cranes we go!

Perhaps you are aware, but football is a pretty big deal here (as in most parts of the world).  Soccer is a bit of a religion, and the majority of Ugandans are very passionate about it.  One thing we have learned, if you are not sure what to say to a Ugandan, you can always just ask about soccer.  This year, the Ugandan national team is pretty good and has stirred a bit of extra excitement.  They have a good chance to go to the World Cup.  And African teams are currently qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations, made up of 16 teams – which Uganda has not been to in 34 years.  The final round of qualification matches was this past weekend.  Uganda against Kenya  ...at home  …and it’s all anybody can think about here.  The Ugandan national stadium is actually just outside of Kampala, not too far away.  Only a couple of national matches are played there a year…and when they are, it is a pretty big deal.  So when we learned more about it and a few people started throwing around the idea of trying to get some tickets, we decided it was an experience we didn’t want to miss and that it would be fun to go mingle with 70,000 of our closest, very passionate Ugandan friends and watch the Uganda Cranes take on Kenya in a game they hoped would welcome them into the Africa Cup of Nations.

We knew it was game-day when we woke up on Saturday morning.  If you’ve ever been to or watched an international soccer game, you’ve noticed the continuous hum of horns blowing at the game.  If you are like us, the first time you heard it, you thought there was something horribly wrong with the TV.  But no, the spectators in the stands are blowing massive kazoo-like horns.  And when we opened our eyes Saturday morning, there was no mistaking this for just an ordinary Saturday.  The horn blowing started early and our neighbors were persistent in their preparation to make sure the horns and their lungs were ready.  While the sound was a little disruptive and a bit annoying, it was quaint and really cool to be in the midst of an exciting time for the people around us.  As we were getting ready to go, putting on our new Uganda Cranes jerseys (bought the day before by the side of the road), we had no idea that we would be hearing those horns, literally, non-stop until late that evening.  We also had no idea what ‘disruptive and a bit annoying’ really meant at this point. 

Erin made a big breakfast, because we were not sure what the day would bring in terms of being able to get ahold of food.  To subdue our craving for a Chick-fil-a biscuit, Erin tried her hand at breading some chicken and making biscuits from scratch, and we sat down to a huge platter of delicious chicken biscuits.  With our bellies full, we met up with our group at the eMi office.  We had a group of 16 going - made up of eMi interns and LTVs (Long Term Volunteers), some of the local eMi staff, some Heritage teachers, and other friends.  We hired our own matatu taxi for the day to get us there and back.  And split 16 ways, it was pretty cheap.  We met at the office at 10am.  The game started at 5pm and the stadium was not that far away. But this was a get-there-EARLY-or-don’t-get-in-at-all type of thing.  All the tickets are general admission, and far more tickets are sold than there are seats.  So we were actually hoping that leaving at 10 would be early enough. 

Mandela National Stadium sits up on a hill, and when it first came into view, our hearts sank, because there literally was a line of people at least a mile long making the trek to the stadium.  But eventually we lost sight of it, were dropped off on the side of the road, slipped our way up a muddy ravine, and when we got to the top, we were pleasantly surprised to see the stadium right in front of us.  Our Ugandan friends knew right where to go and who to talk to, and they talked our way into a well-guarded side entrance.  We went through security checkpoints, and soon we were climbing the dirt-caked steps leading up into the stadium.  After the main security checkpoints, there were several other points where they were checking bags – many of which were men pretending to check bags mingled with security who actually were checking bags. Theft is a huge problem at events like this, so we decided to play it safe and not bring a backpack or anything. We shoved a bit of cash in our pockets and a few Cliff bars as well as the camera, and that was it. One person in our party did have her cell phone pick-pocketed.

When we entered into the stadium, it was an impressive sight, but not much what we were expecting.  The stadium was imposing, but the field showed signs of wear, and the track around the field reminded us of a nice high school field.  Since we cut through most of the line waiting to get in the stadium, the stands were maybe only half full at this point.  We muscled our way, literally, through about 4 sections of stadium, climbing over the division walls separating the sections - something that would typically get you in a lot of trouble in the States but was the only way to navigate the stadium here.  There weren’t really any actual seats; everything just consisted of concrete steps.  We got pretty good "steps" about half way up on a corner of the field.

So we made it!  – everything had gone very smoothly.  We made pretty good time and got pretty decent seats.  We felt good… Erin and Gary together in Uganda on game day, horns being blown all around, excited people pouring into the stadium, a slightly overcast day to protect us from the direct sun.  We sat down, looked at each other and thought, ‘life is good.’  It was 11:40am… now just 5½ hours until game time, piece of cake.

I’m not sure how to describe the next 5½ hours.  It was a slow process, and over the course of that time, the horn volume gradually increased as our personal space around us gradually decreased - until both were at pretty extreme levels.  The general seating of the stadium was full by around 1pm.  However they kept letting people in.  At some point they stopped allowing entry, and we have no idea how many people were left waiting outside.  The visitor section (Kenya section) and VIP section were much slower to fill up, but were probably full by 3:30.  

It was a long, loud 5½ hours.  We had plenty of entertainment though.  The lead up to the game consisted of one big, loud dance party for the fans - so there was no shortage of people-watching opportunities.  There was constant loud music playing through the loud speakers.  Chants of ‘We Go, We Go, Uganda Cranes We Go,’ was repeated over and over by the crowd.  People paraded through the stands, some as make-shift bands, some displaying political propaganda, and some just dressed up in costumes of lions, bears, a Viking, a skeleton, and assorted monsters.  People were doing tricks with soccer balls on the field.  Over in the Kenyan seating area, since that section was slow to fill up, Ugandans were constantly spilling over in droves to take over their seats.  All the Kenyan fans would get up and push them back.  The police would try to keep a line in between them to keep the peace.  But then the security would relax and it would all happen all over again.  It was always entertaining to watch.  While there was maneuvering space around us to get around, vendors came by to paint Ugandan flags on your face, or to sell nuts or other food, or to sell you a bigger horn or whistle.  We were a bit of a novelty as there were not that many white people there at all.  People came to take our picture.  A news crew even came and taped us cheering.  Of the thousands and thousands of people we saw there, other than people in our group, we probably only saw a half a dozen white people.  Another distraction was watching a pick-pocket get caught.  Pick-pockets who are apprehended are dealt with mob-style.  A guy was caught just a couple rows behind us.  Without missing a beat, the surrounding crowd grabbed him, smacked him around a little, stripped him completely naked, sent him running across the stadium, and then resumed with their cheering.   It was weird!  Never a dull moment…

As the day wore on, Erin began desperately praying that her bladder would miraculously double in size, because we really did not want to leave our seats to try to find a toilet.  As the stadium filled and filled, we realized we did not really want to abandon our seats.  It was a combination of fear that we would never be able to get our seats back, coupled with the trouble of getting down to a toilet and making our way back through the crowd.  People were EVERYWHERE.  There weren’t any aisles left and the mouths of the tunnels leading into sections of the stadium were also all full of people.  You could get down, but it would require walking on people.  We’re not good at walking on people.  So we decided we’d rather not pee or eat for 10 hours than fight that and opted for dehydration and prayers for bladder miracles. Thankfully, that actually worked out, and we both managed to hold it until we got home!

Around 4pm, it was still loud.  VERY loud.  We could only yell in each other’s ears to communicate.  Having someone yell in your ear is pretty painful, and it usually took a couple tries to actually get across what was being said.  So we soon even stopped doing that.  The cloud cover that was providing us relief from the African sun had dispersed, and we were beginning to roast.  Our heads were pounding as our excitement was wavering.  We knew we still had another hour to go – and that was if the game started on time….and very little happens when it is supposed to in Africa.  So around that time we just sat and smiled at each other knowing that we were glad we were together, but ready to get this show going. 

Intently watching the game

As game time approached, we were both getting a little nervous of what to expect next.  If this is the lead-up to the game, how crazy was it was going to be when play begins??  But 5pm came, the teams lined up, greeted one another, and then play began.  …and to our amazement, the crowd got…quiet.  …And stayed quiet.  It seemed so strange.  The energy directed into getting so excited before the game was now singularly focused on intently watching the game.  Horns still blew, but it was nothing like what it was an hour before.  Everyone just sat down and watched.  When something exciting would happen and we would stand, and we remained standing for too long, the same guy behind us who had been jumping up and down for 5 hours straight, blowing his horn as loud as he could in our ears, politely tapped me and asked me to sit down.  We were so confused.


The game was good.  It was very lopsided with Uganda taking control of the ball for most of the match and forcing almost all of the game to be played on the Kenyan side of the field.  The athleticism of the players was just astounding, and it was such a fast-paced dynamic game to watch.  Kenya could not get much going and their trips onto the Ugandan side were short-lived.  But Kenya played very good defense and despite all the shots on goal Uganda took, neither team was able to score.  We were confident Uganda would score and were anxious to see what the crowd would do when they did.  But eventually time expired and the game ended in a 0-0 tie.  The tie meant Uganda did not qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.  Fans were pretty upset and started throwing their horns and other paraphernalia onto the field as time ran out.  But for the most part, despite how emotional the fans were before the game, everyone was pretty well-behaved in spite of the loss.  Everyone was solemn and mellow as we filed out of the stadium and we made our way out even easier than we came in.  Our group slid down the same ravine we came in through, and a little bit down the road, our taxi was waiting for us. We piled in and quickly sped off.  As we said, our Ugandan friends took good care of us – thank goodness, we would have been in trouble without them!

It was quite an experience.  We are both so glad we got the opportunity to do it and that we had people who knew what they were doing to go with.  However, we’ve talked it over and neither one  of us is quite ready to go do it again just yet.  Maybe we'll listen to the next one on the radio...