Durban -
Angry Bafana Bafana supporters have been writing the Afcon post-mortem since Tuesday night when the team that had promised so much disappointed the nation by getting knocked out of a major tournament yet again.
One angry Durban fan wrote his anger and disappointment large – with a spray-can – leaving a blunt graffiti message near an entrance to a Morningside block of flats. “F*** Bafana,” it read.
Thousands have taken to social media to debate the poor performances and opine on the number crunching required for Bafana Bafana to qualify. But in the end, maths was not needed: they threw away a lead and ultimately lost 2-1 to Ghana after scoring first.
Craig Wilkinson, a resident of the block of flats on Lilian Ngoyi (formerly Windermere) Road, said he was alarmed when, on Wednesday morning, he saw the message at one of the entrances to the block he lives in with his wife and son.
The high school teacher said he too was disappointed by Bafana’s early exit, but was upset by the vandalism and said people should deface their own buildings.
The graffiti has since been painted over by a resident.
On social media, football followers have been using memes and texts to share their anguish.
A meme by Twitter user @LocItru, named only as Rushe, showed a praying man with the text: “Dear Football Gods. Please help Bafana.”
Football blogger Neal Collins posted a meme with men with their hands on their heads with the text: “Can you spot the #bafana team anywhere in this picture? #lostinspace”.
Twitter user @ShotaZee borrowed a maths formula-rich image from the movie A Beautiful Mind to depict Bafana fans’ confusion over the competition’s rules and the team’s chance of qualifying when Algeria – in the same group – scored in a match played at the same time South Africa tackled Ghana.
“Algeria just scored. Bafana mathematicians, what now?” he asked.
Celebrity Twitterer @khayadlanga posted a wry “I think the game should end when the first goal is scored. That way, Bafana would have won this competition”, referring to three blown leads in the competition.
The DA’s parliamentary leader, Mmusi Maimane, expressed his sadness: “It was bring it back home Bafana, now it’s just come back home Bafana. Disappointing indeed.”