The world is 'abuzz' with vuvuzelas. Photo Credit: AfricanGoals2010

I have to admit that I’ve never been much of a soccer fan. I have nothing bad to say about the sport, I simply wasn’t exposed to soccer growing up, so I’ve never taken the time to pay attention.

Well, it seems everyone suddenly has World Cup fever, or at least for the next month. I decided this past Saturday to jump on the bandwagon and sit down to watch my first soccer match. Or is it a game? Either way, I sat down to watch. After about 30 seconds, I found myself adjusting my television in an attempt to fix the buzzing noise. I even took the extreme step of resetting my DirecTV receiver. It finally dawned on me that the noise wasn’t my TV malfunctioning, but was coming from the soccer crowd.

Vuvuzela has become my new favorite term. The incessant “buzzing” noise that I heard is being created by a long plastic blow horn that South African soccer fans use to cheer on their team. It’s become such a buzz (pun intended) with European and American fans that organizers considered banning the horns; they ultimately have decided to keep them. An annoyance, I do think it comical that ESPN has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsor the World Cup, and will ultimately lose its shirt on the deal because of a plastic blow horn. Soccer greenhorns like myself will turn tail and run at the first sound of buzzing.

Exposing ourselves to something new is often hard. Be it soccer, meeting new friends or being willing to look at the world in a new light — change is difficult. So unfortunately for many, the vuvuzelas may prevent many potential new soccer fans from learning the game for the first time. Those new to the sport may not watch, or be unwilling to give it a chance. It got me thinking, how many other vuvuzelas, or road blocks, do we experience on a daily basis that prevent us from trying something new?