By Odirile Mekwa

I sat on the psychologist’s soft leather couch and he asked us to play a game called “association”. I take it most people have seen this game in movies. The “shrink” pulls out a picture and the patient says the first thing that springs to mind. The game we played was with words instead of pictures. The head doctor pulled out a card, looked me in the eye and said “millions”. “Millions?” I asked …

“Well … In 1994 a giant nation of [300] millions decided that, because it had failed to provide adequate military and other support [i.e. millions of dollars] to stem anarchy in a loony African state, it would be an unwise PR move for them to waste millions more on a tinier and loonier African state. The giant succeeded in saving their precious millions and powerful media and political resources. The tiny, loony Africa state succeeded in losing a million (lives). Elsewhere on the Dark Continent the sun shone brightly as millions of people queued up to perform a really simple exercise for which millions risked their lives. Billions of others watched footie on the telly.”

To nobody’s surprise the shrink wrote a generous anti-depressant prescription list after I told him that 1994 was a year of ‘millions’. Millions of Americans watched soccer?! A million Rwandans were killed by fellow countrymen in a few weeks?! Millions of South Africans voted for a black president?! Who would have believed that? And billions of football fans watched USA ‘94. No surprises there.

For all the exciting events in the world at the time, this young boy had a few worthy moments as well. I moved to my school’s hostel and shared a 2-bed dorm with my best friend, found out that my family was moving to the ‘burbs and finally, I got to see the sea! I finally cracked the football team for the annual East London trip and nobody could steal my joy. Some of my teammates stole chocolates and Magnum ice cream at a stop during the trip, and monkeys stole their food at the chalets where we stayed.

For all the legendary party that the Soccer World Cup is, America took it further. They gave the world the biggest carnival ever experienced. All the freaks and illegal immigrants hit the streets and bars in the Land of the Free. The American football arenas were done up to host the mother of all football spectacles. The cities’ streets were all polished and the cops were out in full force to be seen. The football stars; shining, waning and budding, came out from all corners of the earth and they came to impress. They came by planes, trains and automobiles. Dennis Bergkamp came by boat.

USA ‘94 was the last World Cup which had 24 teams, which means it is a smaller tournament than the current format of 32 teams yet it produced more millions in all the right areas. It brought in the highest TV ratings to this day for any televised event, record attendances for a Soccer World Cup and thousands of millions of tourism dollars.

On the field the stars delivered. Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov was 1992’s European Footballer of the Year and star at FC Barcelona. He carried this unfancied team to the semifinals. Unfancied Sweden had a similar story after being carried there by Henrikk Larsson and Tomas Andersson. Italy had Roberto Baggio, Gianfranco Zola, Paulo Maldini and Gialucca Vialli. The quality in this team was phenomenal, and I don’t just mean their kit or gelled-up hair. The Italians made their way to the final after being made to sweat along the way by the likes of Argentina, Greece and a Nigeria team that had a wealth of talent, intimidating looks and smooth goal celebration dance steps.

Nigeria should have at least matched Cameroon’s Italia ‘90 feat with the talent they had. Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, Jay Jay Okocha, Nkwanko Kanu and the imposing, intimidating Rashidi Yekeni. Wow, now this team was massive and if you don’t believe ask the then Bafana Bafana, and the Afcon ‘94 contestants who were turned into mince by the Super Eagles mean machine.

The hosts, USA, only managed to get to the second round and were knocked by eventual winners Brazil but despite this their crowds kept filling the stadiums and made the tourney memorable. The sun shone brightly on the match days and the footballing stars when out of their way not to be outdone. Amokachi sowed terror in opposition defences. Baggio was sheer class and proved on the world stage why he was 1993 European Footballer of the year. Romario and Bebeto made every outing look like practice as they rang rings around the opposing backlines. Bergkamp and Klinsmann did their thing, while Bulgaria and Romania’s stars represented eastern Europe quiet well. Russia, with flying Andrei Kantshelski, thumped Cameroon 6-1 but did not do much thereafter. Asian, Australasian, North American and African nations gave it all they had but could not match the guile, skill, discipline, technique and experience of the Europeans and South Americans. Look into the quarterfinal fixtures if you believe otherwise.

In the end the final come down to old war horses, Brazil and Italia. Brazil had been pragmatic in defence and midfield, and their performances were livened up by the finishing of Bebeto and 1994 European and World Footballer of the Year Romario. Italy had Baggio. The final as expected drew diverse predictions and invoked a lot of excitement from the fans and media alike. When the teams went out onto the pitch at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl they were also gunning for the title of most World Cups won. The sun shone brightly, the masses packed the arena and after 120 minutes of tiring football we had no goal to show. Much like modern day Soweto derbies but … in that, USA ‘94 became the first and only Soccer World Cup to be decided on a penalty shootout. It was a dramatic end to a thrilling tournament.

USA ‘94 was a tournament that had everything for everybody. For football lovers there was great football. For statisticians there were record set every day. For the business minded, windfall profits were made, and for the celebrity and gossip obsessed there was Argentina’s Diego Maradona and Columbia’s Emerlio Escobar. Only a few years earlier Maradona was the biggest name ever in football and broke transfer records when moving between Italian and Spanish clubs. He had led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1978 and in 1986. He had ‘The hand of God’ and made the world forget about Pele for a minute. Maradona was sent packing from the tournament after he tested positive for cocaine use. Escobar also got to go home but that was after his team were knocked out because of his own goal. His welcome home gift was a bullet to the chest…

Again Mzansi watched the Cup from home but this time there was hope. Our players were getting used to international competition and the nation started growing expectations. It was only a matter of time.

Odirile Mekwa is a father, Bloemfontein Celtic member and all-round sports lover. He is fanatic about South Africa and can’t wait for the spectacle that is the 2010 Soccer World Cup to arrive!

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