Vitriolic hysteria
2009-06-23 10:45
I may be wrong - which is rare - but when South Africa first started playing international sport again after the dark days of apartheid the only hysteria that surrounded our national teams was of the positive variety.
Everyone was simply giddy just to have an international match to watch in 1992. It seems, though, that much has changed since our initial post-apartheid fixtures against India, New Zealand and Cameroon. The hysteria, thanks to the cowardly privacy of the internet's comment forums, now comes in waves of rabid vitriol rather than veneration.
After South Africa's entirely predictable loss to Pakistan - not because we're chokers, but because Pakistan is probably the most naturally gifted cricket side in the world and we just met them on one of "those days" - in last week's ICC World Twenty20 semi-final sport24's readers (though I'm loathe to call most of them that, I think they just look at the pictures) exploded with contempt towards Graeme Smith and his team. Particular ire was directed towards the national captain's bulk, as well as the expanding waistlines of Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher.
There also appears to be a preference to foist the national captaincy onto Johan Botha, based solely on the premise that he wears a medium shirt and not a large. And despite finishing the tournament with the second most runs (238 at a strike rate marginally under Chris Gayle's), Kallis still can't seem to find any love from South Africa's so-called cricket fans. I'm actually surprised that no one blamed the semi-final loss on the Kallis' heavily receded hairline; such was the frenzy of finger pointing after the loss.
Mike Atherton, the former England captain turned cultured London Times scribe, wrote a piece for his paper after India's early T20 exit calling on Indian fans to "grow up". Well known for their see-sawing fervour and effigy burning, India's fans have developed a nasty sense of entitlement for victory. But you can't win 'em all.
Bitterly disappointing
Atherton's most salient point in the column is that there are more losers in sport than winners. "Sport is not about winning, it is about losing," wrote Athers. "Twelve teams have been taking part in this tournament and only one of them will return winners. The rest will be losers."
The Proteas were one of the best teams at the World Twenty20. We bowled brilliantly, our fielding is possibly the best in the world, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis were excellent with the bat and we discovered a new bowling gem in left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell.
But reading the post-tournament rhetoric amongst the online punters you'd swear that the team was a complete embarrassment and blight on the nation, and that at no stage of the tournament did they provide us, their supporters, with enjoyment.
Yes we lost in a knock-out situation again. Yes, it's bitterly disappointing to come away without silverware for the umpteenth time. But I can't remember a cricket season where I've enjoyed watching the national side more.
In the last 12 months we've beaten England in England, we won an insanely entertaining Test series against the Aussies, smashed them in the away leg of the ODI series, got humbled in the home leg of the Test series and then swatted them aside in the SA leg of the ODIs before losing a dead rubber. That's entertainment. And surely that counts more than anything?
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