The Tweet that made my heart sink

I’m completely new to this Twitter game.

I used to find the short messaging service the most inane waste of time until my girlfriend convinced me it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to get an account to help my chronicle South Africa.

With few ideas about what to do and fewer people following me, I thought my foray into this social medium would be as gentle as the one I will have tip toeing into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Durban this month.

It didn’t take long for two things to come across my radar that made me change my mind and realize how fast word—and in these cases trepidation may spread.

First it was news that American forward Jozy Altidore sprained his right ankle in practice earlier this week. The 20-year old is listed as day-to-day with the injury and few people expect him to miss his team’s opener against England.

First it was news that American forward Jozy Altidore sprained his right ankle in practice earlier this week. The 20-year old is listed as day-to-day with the injury and few people expect him to miss his team’s opener against England.

The other news, which I found more depressing, despite being an American, was the arm injury to Cote d Ivoire captain Didier Drogba. There are conflicting reports about his condition. The Ivorian football federation has not ruled out the possibility the forward, and Vanity Fair cover model, will play in the tournament while other outlets are reporting he is done for the World Cup.

(Then again, how can one trust either source when it was originally reported the Ivoirians opener is June 13 instead of June 15?)

Drogba is the heart and soul of a team that some say have the talent to make the semifinals—or beyond. What was more heartbreaking to me was he was suspended due to yellow card accumulation for the Elephants only victory in the 2006 World Cup.

There are other teams whose captains will miss the tournament, but when one thinks of soccer in England or Germany Rio Ferdinand and Michael Ballack are not instantly the first men to come to mind. The two are very good players and may be in the conversation, but they do not mean as much to their team and their country as Drogba.

British media have castigated the 32-year old forward as a brooding brute on occasion, but there is little denying that Drogba is a predator in front of goal. He’s the type of person who can not only score goals, but win games—attributes many managers preparing for the World Cup would envy.

Of course I have a highly selfish rooting interest in Drogba’s health. I have tickets to see the Ivoirians opener against Portugal—and this guy.