Their team may have set a record for early exits by a host, but South Africans insist the World Cup party will go on until the last visitor has left and have already identified new heroes to cheer on.
It is barely 11 days since Bafana Bafana swelled the hearts of all South Africans with a rousing opening day draw with Mexico.
But a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay followed by Tuesday's brave but ultimately meaningless 2-1 win over France meant they became the first home team to fall at the first hurdle in the competition's history.
Rather than allowing themselves to become embittered, normal supporters say the team and the country as a whole have already done themselves proud and will simply switch allegiance.
"They surprised not only myself but all of the nation," said a proud Jonathan Pretorious after seeing South Africa beat the 1998 champions.
"It's not going to end here. Millions of South Africans will definitely continue supporting the World Cup," he said after watching the game at a Cape Town fan park.
"We lost but we're like soldiers," added 29-year-old Ruddy Phakoe, also watching in Cape Town. "We never gave up. Even though we never qualified to the next round, we fought all the way."
In reality, few South Africans expected their team -- ranked 83 in the world -- to be serious challengers and many fans have flown both a South African flag and the colours of another team from their cars throughout the tournament.
"Everyone's got a second team so it's okay," said Masekwe Gozo while seated in front of the park's giant screen.
"Once your team is out then you have to get someone else. A big thing is that if there's another African team that goes through, then that team will get a lot of support."
Mike McDonald, an English teacher who urged on the team at a similar fan park in downtown Johannesburg agreed that local fans would swiftly transfer their affections to another African team.
Ghana are the most likely to make it to the second round while the Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Algeria could still progress.
"The supporters are still going crazy, and will support the best African team," said McDonald.
"The vibe has calmed down, but for the final, the vuvuzela will go loud."
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