I applaud your tenacity to fly in the
face of the crowd and blatantly say what you think. It takes courage and a
certain type of person to not see the special power that sport has in each and
every South African’s heart.
Sport for us, above most nations in the
world, has the amazing ability to break down prejudices that one might have
towards another. It has the power to break the toxic masculinity that grips our
country daily, grown - so called tough - men are brought to tears in the face
of a victory. The power of sport in South Africa has the amazing ability to
allow the most diverse and wildly different people to stop and suddenly realise
the commonalities that exist between each other. It truly has a way to break
down the ‘Berlin Walls’ that some people have built in their minds to separate
the country by race, class, and or religion/beliefs.
What is truly disheartening is the
diatribe that has been spewed out after the victory of the Springboks recently.
It truly is saddening to see such hateful speech that has arisen between
communities, lambasting the proud for being happy for South Africa as a whole.
Some of it is due to the racial make-up of the team, or the gruesome history
that WE as South Africans have gone through in the past. And that is understandable.
To overcome the South African’s past failures at being hateful human beings is
a process. It is a process for each and everyone to come to an understanding of
what happened, what changed and how can we as South African’s can change.
Believe it or not, I think that was one of our coach Rassie Erasmus’ main goals
in motivating the Springboks to world victory.
Watching and listening to the messages
and media throughout the Rugby World Cup 2019, allowed one to see a little way
into the coach’s mindset. This man cared about talent, hard work and the
tenacity to win. This combination not only breeds success on the sports field
but in South Africa too. The Springbok team did not represent the demographics
of South Africa, but, it did represent the tenacity. The men of colour in our
team are amazing, not only in their drive to succeed but also in their drive to
change South Africa.
For Erasmus the challenge was always
going to be the selection of his team, for years the Springboks have been
tasked with a transformation goal. How do you select from the talent that is
South Africa and still represent South Africa as a whole? And what Erasmus did
was select men that could truly embody the change that South Africa can achieve
and has achieved.
We’ve all heard our captain, Siyamthanda Kolisi's, story. The man is a beacon of hope. Recently the story of
our amazing try scoring Wing, Makazole Mapimpi, broke the news and how he grew
up learning and playing the game of rugby. Soon I’m sure we’ll hear the rest of
the World Cup Squads’ origin stories and be amazed by the tenacity that our men
embody and the reason they are champions.
From these stories, these men lead the
change that South Africa needs, they lead us to another level of unity that we
never thought to embrace before.
I hope and truly believe that the way
that our men played their hearts out this Rugby World Cup was a spectacular and
truly honest way to encourage our youth to dream. In a country with over 20% of
our population unemployed, dreaming is a luxury. It’s something someone that
goes to bed with a full stomach and surety of the next days’ meal can do. It’s
a privilege that many can’t even imagine because their lives are at risk every
time they go to school.
The origin stories of our amazing men in
the green and gold show that one can still utilise the luxury of dreaming in
the adversity of their situation. By doing so, one has the power to see beyond
and find ways to ensure their success in the distant futures.
The purpose of the Rugby World Cup win,
wasn’t only to break rugby records and carry old bill home. It was also to open
South Africa’s eyes and show us the adversity we live in now, the troubles
great sportsmen have overcome, and where we as a country can hold each other
accountable to rise above the challenges we face.
And to the naysayers of unity, I say, watch out. The leaders of tomorrow are the youth inspired by our team’s success
this year. I believe through the efforts that have arisen around the country,
the leaders of tomorrow will have no time for nonsense. They will have had
endured such adversity and risen above it that diatribe will only add fuel to
their fire.
All the best.
