National anthem not a pop song

2011-08-29 14:42

I am really pleased to see that the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee for Sport has summoned South Africa's rugby bosses to explain why, for the second time, they have allowed someone to trash our national anthem.

Actually, I sincerely hope that the portfolio committee will go one step further and instruct the rugby union to draft some new rules about the use of the national anthem at test matches. 

The first rule should be that our anthem should not be regarded as part of the showbiz hype that has crept into our sport - the cheerleaders, fireworks and fanfares. I have no problem with cheerleaders, fireworks and fanfares because sport has become just so much showbusiness that we might as well go the whole hog.

But, our national anthem is actually a prayer and not just another piece of pop music.

And even if you don't like to think of it as a prayer it is nonetheless something hallowed that is supposed to unite all South Africans.

And unification does not come from listening to one or two celebs belting it out as though they were auditioning for Idols but rather from the crowd singing it in unison.

When you think about it, the emotion generated by the playing of our national anthem at international sporting events does not come from the TV cameras focussing on a single singer bur rather on sections of the crowd standing with their hands on their hearts and singing with enormous passion. Also by the cameras picking up on members of the team also singing with passionate intensity.

Which brings me to the next rule and that is not to allow any microphones within a million miles of team members while the cameras are showing them singing the anthem.

Many of them are completely tone deaf and even those who can sing are at a huge disadvantage because they can't actually hear themselves singing.

The only voices we should hear are thousands of South Africans pouring their hearts out.

That's where the passion is. That's what stirs the blood. That is the only way to treat a national anthem.

One only has to listen to 80 000 Welshmen in the Millennium Stadium, or the English at Twickenham and the French in the State de France, singing their anthems to realise just how stirring this can be.

Unfortuntalkey, this is often spoiled as the TV cameras focus on a celebrity singer or team members and all you hear is one discordant voice.

These rules should even apply when South Africa plays away. If there are not enough South African supporters in the crowd overseas to sing the anthem then frankly we should just listen to the music rather than have some foreign celebrity do it.  

So, I hope the Portfolio Committee does some serious thinking before it puts our rugby bosses on the spot. I hope they insist on all sporting codes drawing up some rules and regulations to avoid having our national them cause such disunity.

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