Nigeria Out. What goes around ...

The night before, I enjoyed watching the removal of Nigeria from the competition, if only because it made all those Nigerians who scam millions from people around the world miserable. I imagined the guy who tried to scam me taking a moment off from hanging around ATMs, sitting in a bar in Stellenboch, his pockets full of money skimmed from tourist accounts. He knows Nigeria needs to win to progress, and it's 2-2 with a few minutes minutes to go. He's so confident he's also placed a large bet on his team. Then Nigerian forward Martins breaks clear, and as he reaches the edge of the box, my Nigerian rises from his seat, arms held high. Martins doesn't blast it, he chips it delicately, and it takes forever to drift over the keeper. And my Nigerian yells out, his heart soars, indeed it's been a good day. But ever so slowly, the ball drifts outside the far post by a whisker, and he lets out a loud moan, and slumps in his seat. As his bum hits the chair, he can feel a wad of cash in his back pocket, and he recalls the words of William Shakespeare (look, I know that's unlikely, but he was well-spoken, and I happen to like this quote): "Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot, that it do singe yourself".