Day 16 continued: Cape Town Turns Orange

Samuel Eto'o scores a penalty for Cameroon, but they lose 2-1.



Plenty of orange in Cape Town and in the crowd.





One of the great things about playing in orange is that your supporters certainly stand out. The Dutch came to Cape Town today and the place is a sea of orange. They're light-hearted and friendly, especially because their team is playing well and has already qualified.

My final game of the group stages is Netherlands versus Cameroon, and it's a warm evening to stroll the 2.5km 'fan walk' for the last time. This has been a great feature of Cape Town, the festivities along the way adding to the atmosphere.

Along the way, I'm approached by three middle-aged Dutch people. One of the ladies says to me, "Are you going to the game?"

"Yes," I reply.

"Who are you supporting?"

"Australia."

She looks surprised. "They're not playing," she informs me.

I feign shock. "Oh no, am I in the wrong city?"

Then I show her my Australian shirt under my jacket, and she laughs. And she hands me a bag of goodies. "Would you like a DVD, it shows the preparation by six players for the World Cup."

Now, I'm on my way to a game and don't really want to carry this, and accepting a DVD from a stranger is a bit suspect, but I respond enthusistically, we have a little more banter and off I go.

Then I take a closer look. It's promotional material for the 'Soccer World Cup International Church Services', where they have 'soccer -focused services' before each evening game, followed by the game itself. I never thought about it before, but suddenly it all falls into place. That's why there were 12 apostles - Jesus needed a football team. Judas was red-carded, that left him with only 11 plus himself. He'd be captain, Mary would be manager, he'd play four at the back (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John seemed to go together), there'd be some loafs and fishes at half-time, water into wine if they win, a sermon on the mount before the game, maybe even a burning bush to distract the opposition. There'd be a decent crowd with the promise of a feeding for at least five thousand, as they came into the ground two by two (okay, that's mixing testaments).

And when you see players kneeling down before a game and praying together, and both teams do it, I've often wondered if they look at each other and wonder who God is listening to. Both teams are praying for a win. Do they think God takes sides? Or is it Allah versus God?

But with the Nazareth All Stars, there's a direct hot line. You could play Mary up front and the team would be fine. It brings a completely new meaning to winning by the "Hand of God."