South Africa got the party started in style - and FanZoner Dave Guile believes the host nation have the upper hand in Group A.
Learn the dance: right arm, left arm, lean left and spin in a circle...
So, I had the new TV set up, tuned and ready for the start of the most eagerly anticipated moment in African football.
I had a fridge full of lager and a cupboard full of snacks.
Everything was planned with precision, down to the tiniest detail.
There was just one thing missing - me. Because, while South Africa was kicking off the 2010 World Cup, I was slaving away in front of a computer screen in that dreaded hell-hole known as 'work'.
As you can imagine, there wasn't a whole lot of productive graft going on. Half the office seemed to be putting themselves at risk of an instant P45 by attempting to stream the action onto their work stations via a highly disreputable website. The bosses didn't care because they were in on it, too.
Rumours started circulating about a Mexico goal, and I have to admit I feared for my adopted team. Somehow, not being able to watch was making the tension immeasurably worse.
At half past four, I locked my drawers and made for the exit, hoping to make it to the nearest pub in time to catch the last half hour. As I passed through reception my ears were assailed by a strange, raspy, buzzing sound. It's the sort of noise I'd expect a mosquito to make after biting Pete Doherty. I turned to see my own personal Holy Grail a specially installed big screen. Best of all, the top left corner was displaying ' South Africa 1-0 Mexico .'
I didn't have to wait too long for a replay of the goal, and it didn't disappoint. A lovely interchange of passes was finished off with a top corner thunderbolt from Siphiwe Tshabalala, who then celebrated with what I can only assume was the South African equivalent of the Macarena.
Phenomenon
Given that the dance has already reached the eyes of about a billion people all over the world, it's surely only a matter of time before the 'Tshabalala' becomes the most annoying global phenomenon since the Cha Cha Slide. Right arm, left arm, lean left and spin in a circle, 'heeeeey, Tshabalala'! Coming soon to a cheesy club near you.
Unfortunately, Mexico weren't in a charitable mood, and soon equalised. Oscar Perez's right goalpost wasn't feeling generous either, denying Katlego Mphela's late attempt to restart the party. It's probably a good job he didn't score. The vuvuzelas were steadily getting louder and louder as the match went on and a late goal would probably have done irreparable damage to our sound system.
That's one point chalked up already, then, and it's one point more than some 'experts' predicted we'd get.
Next up, Uruguay, whose coach Oscar Tabarez spent the build-up to their showdown with France bemoaning his team's reputation for dirty tactics. The team promptly underlined his statement by only having one player sent off during the game, which is supposedly quite good by their standards.
The key battle is likely to be between Aaron 'The Axe' Mokoena and Sally Gunnell lookalike Diego Forlan. Someone's going to get hurt.
We have cleared the first hurdle without falling flat on our faces and out of the four teams in Group A, I'd say we're probably the happiest.
This is our party, so let's see who we can send home first.
