Reggie Bush in South Africa: Talking World Cup, Hanging With Zidane

JOHANNESBURG -- The U.S. national team attracted a few celebrity fans during its World Cup run, most notably Bill Clinton. A few well-known athletes made the trip down to South Africa as well, among them New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush (pictured above in South Africa), who decided to wind down his Super Bowl celebration by taking in the biggest sporting event of all.

Bush was in the country with adidas, which is a World Cup sponsor that has used Bush in some very creative cross-promotion before. In the "Futbol Meets Football" campaign a few years ago, Bush and David Beckham matched skills in a great series of ads that featured Bush taking penalty kicks and Beckham in a helmet and shoulder pads.

A few moments before the U.S.-Algeria game at Ellis Park, FanHouse was invited to spend a few minutes in the adidas suite, try some biltong (South African beef jerky) and chat with Bush about football, the other football, his trip to South Africa and whether he wishes he could play in a World Cup.

FANHOUSE: You've been to a few soccer games, you know what soccer means to fans around the world. I was trying to think if there was a parallel in the U.S., a place where fans identify so closely and completely with their team, and the Saints jumped to mind. We heard so many stories during the Super Bowl run about how much the team meant to the city and how big of a role it's played in the city's rebirth. You think there's something to that?

BUSH: I think there is a parallel there with the New Orleans Saints, but I think there's a few teams in the league that have that similar chemistry with their city. The Green Bay Packers, they live, they bleed that green color, and who else? Raider nation, the whole Oakland city really dives into their football team and they're really all about the Oakland Raiders. So I think there a few teams in the NFL like that, but not a lot.

It's a good thing. It's a great thing, the fact that fans will live and die by their teams. New Orleans was my first experience in a city that really bleeds black and gold. You can't go around the city and find one person who's not a Saints fan.

FANHOUSE: Well hopefully you'll get more chances to see some of the big club games in Europe or South America, where it just means everything to them.

BUSH: I think it would be great to get some of those big games to the States. Just like once a year we have a game in London, and hopefully we can expand that to other countries.

FANHOUSE: Bring Barcelona vs. Real Madrid to the U.S.?

BUSH: Absolutely. That would be great. Bring it to New York, a big market obviously. I'm sure Jerry Jones would love to have one of those games down there.

FANHOUSE: So tell us a bit about why you're here.

BUSH: I'm here with adidas and obviously I'm here to support the U.S. team. I'm hear to support the World Cup, and just kind of promoting adidas with my stay here. One of the first things I did was I went to the Nelson Mandela Foundation with Zinedine (Zidane).

FANHOUSE: What did you think of him?

BUSH: He's a cool guy. He's an icon. Got the chance to hang with him a bit. We went to the Spain [vs. Honduras] game together, and he's cool. Obviously, he doesn't speak a whole lot of English, but he's cool and it was a good experience.

FANHOUSE: And you know David Beckham.

BUSH: I do know David Beckham.

FANHOUSE: How was that experience, shooting those commercials (video below) with him?

BUSH: That was cool. We did that three or four years ago now, out in Spain, actually. He was with Real Madrid at the time, before he came to L.A. It was cool, getting the chance to meet him and talk to him. I was kind of sizing him up a little bit.

FANHOUSE: What impresses you about soccer players? Sometimes there seems to be a perception in the U.S. that it's not as athletic a sport.




BUSH: First thing, watching soccer, you have to be in shape. Because you're going to run. And I think there are a lot of similarities between soccer and football. Some of the best athletes in soccer are agile, they're quick, they're elusive, they're very elusive with their feet, so they have great feet. There are a lot of similarities to some of the top athletes in football.

Just like in football, and I think it's the same for soccer, it all starts from the waist down. That's kind of how you train. You train starting with your core, then your legs, and honestly, the upper body is for looks. It's for the ladies, for the looks.

FANHOUSE: I'm sure you noticed Zidane is very slender.

BUSH: Exactly. He can run, he's elusive.

FANHOUSE: There's this idea that if the best athletes in the U.S. played soccer, we'd win the World Cup. If only you, LeBron James and Derek Jeter played soccer. Is there anything to that, or does soccer require it's own kind of athlete? Are athletes built to excel at specific sports?

BUSH: I think there's definitely a breed that's built to play certain sports. There definitely is a breed like David Beckham that was built to play soccer, those types of guys. We've dominated in our own sports, our American sports, for so long because they're our sports.

FANHOUSE: Do you wish there was a World Cup for football?

BUSH: I do! I wish I had the chance to compete for a gold medal. Unfortunately we don't have that luxury, because I think it would be great. It would be an honor to be on a USA team. It's something we don't get to do. You're always at home, watching the Olympics, watching people compete in different sports. It kind of [makes me] mad a little bit because they have -- what is it called? -- with the sweeping? Curling! They can have curling, how come we can't have football? It doesn't make any sense.

FANHOUSE: Swedes don't play football.

BUSH: Right.

FANHOUSE: Herschel Walker did the bobsled.

BUSH: Yeah, yeah. I know there were some guys who tried the track thing. I ran track in high school and I was pretty good. My fastest time was a 10.3 [seconds in the 100 meters], and I think obviously by training for it, you know, yeah, I could do anything I put my mind to, but I think one sport [is enough].

FANHOUSE: What has struck you about South Africa so far?

BUSH: I think the first thing that you come here you see, 'Wow, this is like a big city. Nice beautiful homes here, gated homes, and big malls, nice cars.' So, there's obviously a misconception I think in the U.S. that Africa's all lions and tigers, poor people, starving kids. It's not all about that.

FANHOUSE: Do you think it means something to black American athletes that this event is here?

BUSH: I don't know the answer to that question. I know for me, it's great that the World Cup is here. It's almost unifying all nations, in the sense that it's unifying all these different countries that are here playing, competing for this World Cup. It's bringing a lot of pride of to Africa, and that's great.

Obviously I'm from the States, we call Africa "the motherland," but I think it's great for the sport and great for the continent of Africa. And anywhere the World Cup is, it's going to be similar because it's such a huge, huge sport, and it's big everywhere else but the States.

FANHOUSE: Do you plan on going to a Galaxy game when you're home?

BUSH: Yeah, I do. But the seasons kind of conflict, and usually when I'm home I just want to sleep, relax, rest my body. I went to the opening of the Red Bull [Arena]. It's beautiful. They actually played a Brazil team [Santos]. That was a good time.