It's Wednesday the 9th of June 2010 and there is a palpable hype in the Open Box office. Moments later desks are evacuated and Open Box joins soccer fans across the country, brandishing vuvuzelas and taking to the streets for the 'Vuvuzela Moment'.
For many, blowing the plastic horns marked the unofficial start of the World Cup and the beginning of a mid-year Festive Season!
In keeping with the competitive theme, we partook in a few rivalries of our own. The first task was to determine which of the teams in the office had the most 'GEES'. The teams were challenged to decorate their work areas accordingly and in an unsurprising turn of events, it was Team Black Pearl who walked away with the prize after setting up a curtain of flags, erecting vuvuzela mobiles (mind your head!) and an electronic kick-off countdown while playing 'Waka Waka' on repeat.
In addition to this a prize was awarded to the most 'Geesful' individual, who with little competition was our very loyal Greek native, complete with blue and white overalls and Makarapa.
In further support of the festivities we also had a braai on Friday, June 25th. It started out on a challenging note with OB Braaiers refusing to use briquettes... but after some serious wood purchases were made, the braais were fired up and the evening began. For those more interested in the soccer (or avoiding braai-ing) the Spain vs. Chile match was on in the OB chill-out area. Viva Espana!
And so, it is with much sadness that we bid farewell to the FIFA World Cup. Fortunately we still have the replays, the memories and impromptu 'Football Fridays' to keep the positive South African spirit alive!