It’s safe to say that Maurice Meyer would do just about anything to get a ticket to the World Cup final, and it’s also safe to say that what he did isn’t at all safe.
Meyer, a 32-year-old South African businessman from Nelspruit, swam 60 meters across the Crocodile River as part of contest to win a ticket to Sunday’s World Cup final at Soccer City.
The contest, conducted by a radio station in Pretoria, asks people to do something that will impress the judges enough to win one ticket to the match. The winner is expected to be announced on Thursday. “I heard of the competition over the radio and I thought to myself, ‘No man, these guys’ stories are all lame’,” Meyer said. “So it just popped into my head. Luckily we did not see any crocodiles.”
Meyer was accompanied by his wife Nicole for the swim, while his brother Gert stood by with a gun in case either were attacked.
Other contestants got parts of their bodies waxed in the radio station’s studio and some even got tattoos — far safer activities.
What may make Meyer’s attempt seem even more crazy is that he wasn’t even a football supporter before the World Cup. But since attending a pair of matches in Nelspruit, he has changed his mind. “I am usually more of a rugby fan. But I have become a football lover since the World Cup,” Meyer said. — AP