The power of sport

Last night I couldn't help but reflect on the feast of sport we've been indulged with over the past 3 months... First half of India landed unexpectedly on our shores, were welcomed with open arms and jam-packed stadiums and put on a great show. Then the circus moved to England where the T20 world cup saw Pakistan, a country with huge internal strife at the moment, rise above the odds and capture their first major sporting trophy in over a decade. All the while the Super 14 was drawing to a dramatic finish up in Loftus, with crazy dutch-saffers giving English soccer hooligans a run for their money. As I write, up in the mountains of France, a living legend is making his return to the Tour de France, adding another chapter to what is already an inspirational story of determination and courage. But there were three stories in particular that motivated me to blog today.

Last month, South Africa hosted what has become known as the 'dress rehearsal' for the soccer world cup, the Fifa Confederations Cup. To be modest... the event was a huge success. Finally South Africa was able to prove to the world what we saffers have known all along, that we are as capable of hosting and delivering a world class event as anyone else. Words cannot express my pride and my delight at being able to laugh in the face of those nay-sayers who insisted that the world cup would have to be moved because Africans couldn't possibly handle such a task. For those reading this from outside of Africa, you should know that there is a general buzz of excitement thoughout all of Africa, on the streets, in the offices, in the schools... The effect that this tournament is having is amazing to watch. Excuse the miserable cliché, but SA is truly emerging from its coccoon. The added bonus? The cherry on the cake? The performance of our Bafana Bafana! I will gladly put up with the heartache of a hundred last minute losses, just to see a country once again fully behind their team with a genuine belief that they can succeed.

Now on Saturday, the Lions tour to SA came to an end. This is an event that only takes place once every 12 years (I struggle to think of any sporting competition with such a gap between events) and therefore is looked forward to with great anticipation. But I for one was actually really glad to see it end. Now I know this is far from a popular opinion, but to me this rugby tour represented everything that is wrong with sport. From obnoxious foreign press, to arrogant and intolerant coaches, to foul play and accusations of foul play, ignorant and offensive comments from players, accusations of racism, bitching about referees... the list goes on. As an all round sport fan, it actually pained me to watch this tour unfold on and off the field. If I were absolutely ignorant and was forced to judge all professional sport based on the evidence of this series, I'd never watch sport again.

Lets end on a positive note (in fact my inspiration for blogging today). Yesterday I settled into what's left of my couch at 3pm to watch what I expected to be a 1h30min Federer festival. What I witnessed instead was an epic afternoon of tennis. As I sat through the 90-odd minutes that was the final set, I couldn't help but remember the 2008 Wimbledon final, a match that many call the finest of the modern era. Federer is now in my mind the greatest player that ever lived and barring Andre Agassi my favourite player of all time, but after seeing the determination to win, the courage to fight and the way he was gracious in defeat, I am now a Andy Roddick fan. Days such as these are few and far between, but yesterday I really wished we didn't have a need for a winner and a loser in professional sport.

But yesterday was more than a great game of tennis, it was a great display of sportsmanship. The players, the officials and particularly the crowd... there was just this emotion, this aura around that tennis court that was plain to see, even on a television set thousands of miles away. That's precisely what I love about sport, that's why I'll wake up at 6am on a Sunday to watch F1, that's why I'll go watch any live cricket at Newlands, that's why I pay a ridiculous monthly fee for satellite tv, for the magic and the power of sport. Nothing else on earth has the power to unite people of all races, cultures and creeds... Just you wait till next year, bring on 2010!

The Flying Donkeys

This post has been a long time coming but I finally managed some time to write about something that I find awesome in world sport, the sheer passion of supporters worldwide.

Whether you're in morocco, india, ecuador or soweto, you'll always find a small town that supports their local team, come rain or shine. It's those towns that live around their team, buying season tickets and living through the ups and downs with their teams... The team and the supporters are one. Sure this extends to larger clubs, but it's always heartening to see the unwavering love and passion that people show to their small town club.

Take for example a team I came to know about recently, Chievo Verona. A small town club in Italy whose main sponsor is the local town bakery. The team started off from nothing and are now are the proberbial underdog of the Serie A.

The local rival team Hellas Verona once said that Chievo would play in the Serie A when donkeys fly... Now Chievo are a regular Serie A team while Hellas suck in the third division. The nickname stuck btw, Chievo Verona are 'The Flying Donkeys'

The same sorta passion extends to bigger clubs. As we watch season after season of the big 4 in the premier league, bitching as our teams fail to win everything every season, there are those teams that fight the relegation battle year after year, and dare I say it, the supporters probably get a lot more satisfaction out of the relegation battle and the championship than a top four supporter would from winning the premier league...

It was sad to see the toons getting relegated, I so wished Shearer would just put on a team shirt during that last game to go show them all how it's done, alas... But if anyone caught the last few championship games, you'd be pretty harsh to deny Burnley and their fans premier league status after their performance in the championship and relative heroics in the FA cup.

The pic above shows the contrasting emotions for both teams, but more importantly, the passion of the teams and supporters...

You gotta love the small teams and their fans, maybe it's the underdog thing, but i'll always have a soft spot for the bolton wanderer, the minardi, the flying donkey...

Planet Earth Needs a Bodyguard, not Miley Cyrus!

This is a rant about a couple of things that I noticed in the news this morning that got me a bit riled up.

Firstly, India's Minister for the Environment has rejected any notion that it will cut greenhouse gas emissions in the near future, or even consider any sort of emission caps. He also asserted that India's current priority is to focus on poverty alleviation and economic development. This was basically a message to developed nations not to expect any concessions when the major developed and developing countries meet in Copenhagen in December for negotiations on the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol.

Now, while those are fine priorities to have, the thing that really irritates me is their refusal to realise that if climate change is not halted or at the very least seriously slowed, life will become infinitely harder for the very people they are currently trying to save! Farmers will lose crops to desertification, the monsoon will shift south leading to severe droughts and the sea levels will rise, causing the destruction of thousands of small fishing villages. These will all affect the poorest people disproportionally. How can these people not see this? Instead of investing in renewable energy, they are ramping up production of coal-fired power plants which will be in operation for the next 25-30 years at least! It makes me sick.

And on a semi-related-but-not-really note, just after reading the previous article I saw a headline (I didn't bother going further) that Hugh Jackman and Miley "Hannah Montana" Cyrus will be teaming up for a remake of "The Bodyguard". Now leaving aside my personal loathing of the insane, fabricated hype around Hannah Montana (I mean seriously, this is the most trite and clichéd character being sold to us as the second coming of Judy Garland or something!), the Bodyguard was not a bad movie - why remake it so soon?! Add to that the not insignificant age gap between Jackman and Cyrus which means that the entire love plot is out the window and you realise that this will be not so much a remake of "The Bodyguard" as a remake of "Man On Fire" with a slightly older girl. It's just stupid. And I swear I'll throw up if I ever hear Miley Cyrus sing "I Will Always Love You"!

That is all.