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Bafana Bafana face extinction
26/10/2007 09:03 - (SA)
Tumo Mokone
A couple of events and comments this week regarding Bafana Bafana prompted me to take a closer look at the buffalo...
This African species is also known as the Cape Buffalo, which means South Africa can lay claim to this fearsome animal.
Why the buffalo?
Well, this beast is awesome, fearless and very strong. It can carry a load of up to 900kg and yet even famed Olympic sprint champions like Carl Lewis could never match the speed of this magnificent animal.
A Wikipedia entry says the Cape Buffalo is a very powerful creature, demanding respect from even a pride of lions.
To get to the point, these are the characteristics Bafana Bafana need. Our soccer national team has lost power and respect in African football. President Thabo Mbeki this week suggested things must change and that the name Bafana Bafana (Boys) must go.
I have always maintained this name is a lousy moniker for a senior national team.
Stronger
In one of my columns last year I suggested that the name be ditched as part of the team's reconstruction process. I said there was no bright future for Bafana, so long as they continue with this nonsensical nickname.
Enter the buffalo, and we look stronger even before our opposition is named!
We cannot be the Lions because four other African national teams have already claimed the "king of the beasts" - Cameroon, Senegal, DR Congo and Morocco.
Lesotho has taken the crocodile and Ivory Coast the elephant. Apart from the buffalo, two other members of the 'Big Five' - the leopard and the rhinoceros - are up for grabs.
The Leopard is a graceful animal, but its lonesome nature makes it unsuitable for a team sport. The rhinoceros looks clumsy, and we may live to regret calling our boys 'The Rhinos'. In soccer the opposition tends to extend mocking nicknames to official ones.
And for that, how will it sound if The Rhinos are also hailed as "The Horny Boys", given the reputation of Bafana players behind the scenes?
Dangerous when wounded
The blue crane is our national bird but Uganda's national team is also know as 'The Cranes'. So, we are left with the buffalo, whose unpredictable nature makes it highly dangerous.
They say the buffalo is even more dangerous when wounded, and nothing under the sun can stop it when it is injured, either physically or emotionally.
Bafana are carrying a lot of mental scars, despite capturing the Cosafa Cup on Wednesday night. The fact that Bafana won via a penalty shootout, after a goalless draw, puts a damper on their victory. The second-string side played well as a unit, and I salute them for that, but the truth is that had Zambia found the net anytime during the match, there was no way that a goal-shy Bafana were going to strike back. This is where the killer instinct of a vexed buffalo is required.
Two weeks ago a full-strength Bafana were holding out for a goalless draw against Italy's B-side, until the Ukraine-based Cristiano Lucarelli struck twice in the last eight minutes of the friendly international. The bottom line therefore is that the Cosafa victory on Wednesday was welcome, but Bafana's lack of firepower in front of goal remains unsolved. Imagine the stampede of a charging herd of buffaloes...
Worst position
More shock for the soccer national team is that the Fifa rankings released on Wednesday, before the Cosafa final kick-off, show that SA has taken a huge plunge down the rankings, to 83rd.
This is South Africa's worst position in 13 years, and the result of poor form even world renowned coach Carlos Alberto Parreira is battling to contain.
There are three years left to 2010 which may not be too late to adopt an attractive and marketable nickname for Bafana. It may not be 'The Buffaloes', which has its flaws. For example, the scientific name of the Cape Buffalo is Syncerus caffer, and the species is related to the Bubalus genus.
Now that caffer word and Bubalus (which sounds like babelas) are two words that may not go down well with the hyper-sensitive among us, especially when it is the South African national soccer team involved.
But the president has spoken, we need change - for our fortunes, appearance and how we're perceived. Change is pain, but it is a necessary devil in order to start afresh.
Read Tumo every week in the Sunday Sun.
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