The June 11 - July 11 tournament that every African had been waiting for, to finally condemn all the Afro-pessimists and closet racists who doubted Africa's ability to host such a tournament to the dustbin of history with other relics of an era gone by, was finally coming to end. As the colours of the fireworks burst into the Johannesburg sky the eyes finally shifted to Brazil for the next World Cup in 2014.
The closing ceremony was sad in that the eyes of the world would no longer be on Africa. However, this should not make us lose sight of the fact that in the last four weeks the world has learned to accept a new Africa in its psyche. This is the context in which the closing ceremony and the final game should be viewed. Everyone, especially South Africans, would be forgiven for drifting into a mild depression and hangover from this week onwards. After all this World Cup had brought to the country and the SADC region an excitement and togetherness never felt in post-colonial Africa.
