SA Rocks

I’m not talking about the Linux operating system when I speak of Ubuntu. I am talking of the great African concept that we are intertwined, that we are not islands and that I am my brothers and sisters in Africa and they are part of me.

This is what Shari Cohen over at the Huffington Post has been left with on her travels through South Africa. Her article is an incredibly positive one written by a self-proclaimed cynic and it’s good to read. It’s good to see that I’m not a mad man and that many, many other people across the world are realising that South Africa in fact does rock, hard!

Here’s a snippet:

I have been truly humbled on this trip. And while I have my gripes regarding development here, I cannot say one negative thing about how South Africa has handled its duties as host and hostess to the world. If I could say one thing to sum up being here during this once-in-a-lifetime experience, it would be that I’ve learned the value of Ubuntu, and that when found and offered in abundance, the world is indeed a better place to live in.

So, if South Africa accomplishes nothing more on the playing field, it will still have won as a host country. I am a cynic, no doubt about that. And yet I have to admit, I’m a little teary just writing this because I leave for home next weekend and I will be leaving a little piece of myself here in South Africa. I just hope I have learned enough to bring back a little piece of Ubuntu to my homeland, where perhaps with a little caring and a little water, it will take root as naturally as it does here, in the cradle of civilization. It’s funny, many people in America still ask me, “are the people in Africa very primitive?” Yes, I know, amazing someone could ask that but they do. And when they do, I usually explain that living in a mud hut does not make one primitive, however, allowing kids to sell drugs to other kids and engage in drive-by killings — isn’t that primitive behavior? I think it is. When I think of Ubuntu and my recent experiences here, I think America has much to learn from Africa in general, in terms of living as a larger village; and as human beings who are all interconnected with each other, each of us having an affect on our brothers and sisters.

Be sure to head over to Huffington Post and read the full article now!

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Yes, Bafana Bafana is out of the Fifa 2010 World Cup. Yes we are the only host nation in the history of the World Cup to not make it through to the 2nd round of the tournament but it just isn’t that simple now is it? Bafana blew out of the tournament bit did not crash and burn as they did this, they climbed the ranks of football in a rising fireball.

My friend Prudence sums it up perfectly:

Yes, let’s just run through that again shall we; Bafana did not qualify for this World Cup and competed on the basis that we were the hosts. We are ranked 83rd in the World right now. We drew with Mexico, ranked 17th. We lost to Uruguay who are ranked 16th and we beat, yes that is correct, we beat the French who are World Cup winners and currently ranked 9th in the world.

I am extremely proud of Bafana Bafana and must say that they played world class football yesterday against the French. The deserved a win and proved that they can compete with the best in the world and come out on top. I also believe that Frances internal politics cannot be an excuse for the French. They are a world class team with world class players and should be able to rise above their own rubbish and win. Their fans must be bitterly dissapointed and they owe their fans an apology.

I’ll still be pulling for the African teams along the way and hope that a few of them manage to make it through and give us Africans something to cheer for.

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Great little video for a bit of fun:

[via MatVisser]

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Bafana Bafana might have lost last night to Uruguay in a 3 – 0 thrashing (let’s be realistic about it).

Here are some of my thoughts on the game:

Bafana never really turned up on the night. They were slow, they never moved forward and they refuse to use their wide-open wings to push the midfield forward. But hey, that’s just my thoughts. We didn’t deserve to win that game and we made Uruguay look good.

The referee – is, well, a referee and this is soccer, this is the beautiful game and there is always going to be a controversy for one team or another. This time it happens to be our team and it sucks. Most of all it sucks for our incredible goalkeeper, Itumeleng Khune who in no way deserves the punishment he is going through. Khune played out of his boots against Mexico and Uruguay and really got a raw deal. However, let me say this as clearly as possible; The referee had nothing to do with South Africa losing to Uruguay. You need to score goals to win a soccer match and you can’t score goals from your own half for 90 minutes. We lost because we didn’t play well.

Uruguay played South Africa in to a corner. They were driven, they pushed forward, they made space (which SA gave them) and they took shots on goal. They also scored the first goal which is imperative for a mental advantage. South Africa’s lack of international experience on a major scale showed here, we were a goal down and we couldn’t get our heads out of that framework. We beat ourselves after that first goal.

Plus, Forlan is brilliant. Enough said there.

But let me follow all of this criticism up with the following:

Bafana Bafana make me proud. I cannot even begin to fathom the weight that those players feel on their shoulders; host nation, one of the lowest ranked teams in the World Cup this year, they have records to maintain (such as trying not to be the first host nation not to make it past the first stage of a World Cup) and they have their pride above all. I do not envy their position. When they win they are our heroes and when they lose fans leave the stadium early.

ASIDE – the fans at Loftus who left the stadium early; I am hoping they left to avoid traffic and if Bafana were winning they would have left anyways at that time (a bit of a dream, but still). I was honestly insulted by their lack of respect for a team that is playing their hearts out for the nation. Disgusting.

Now on to South Africa and how we can still win. It’s simple: Be great hosts, don’t be bitter losers and make this World Cup one to remember for every single individual who has traveled to our beautiful nation.

We have still gained so much by hosting the Fifa World Cup 2010. Whether or not Bafana goes through to the next round they have done us proud by simply competing at a level that no one had previously even expected. We drew to Mexico who sit at #17 on the FIFA world rankings. Bafana sit at 83rd on the rankings, so let’s be realistic (yes this is me being realistic) about the outcomes of this World Cup for Bafana; we were probably never going to win it. Ever. Participating at the top level of global football is an achievement that we were only granted as the hosts of this World Cup. Our boys are doing us proud and we should hold our heads high.

There is more football to be played. There are more games to be watched and there many other African nations and underdogs that we can put our weight behind. I’m personally routing for the Ivory Coast to pull in some magic and get through to the next round and I’m hoping that Cameroon can pull together and show the world their class.

Bring on the next 20 or so days left of the biggest sporting event in the world. It’s going to be a blast that we will probably never in our lifetimes see again in South Africa. So let’s make it worth our while and enjoy it.

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It is no small miracle that we as a nation now host the 2010 Fifa Football World Cup.

Tomorrow is Youth Day, June 16th. Here’s a fantastic little video put together by Good Hope FM in remembrance of June 16th.

Are you going to wear your old-school tie?

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I am suitably impressed with a news article that I was emailed by a South African friend of mine (Thanks Courts) living in Australia. The article is fair, just and doesn’t bounce about the fact that SA has problems. But it is well-balanced and positive too.

Let me just specify however, that this article was not written by a journalist but an Australian living in SA.

Here’s a little excerpt:

Is South Africa up to hosting an event of this size? Until about a month ago, many locals would have said “no”.

Spookily reminiscent of Sydney immediately before the 2000 Olympics, the locals seem to have passed through an arc of emotions ranging from “no one is going to come” to “the transport is going to be a disaster” to their current mind-set: “This is going to be a hell of a jol [party].”

If Sydney is any guide, the South Africans will spend the latter stages of the tournament putting their case that they hosted “the best World Cup ever” and be properly morose when it is all over.

Do yourself (and me) a favour and go and read this short and interesting article. It’s worth the read.

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What an absolutely incredible day to be proudly South African. The streets have been lined with people, proud people, loud people and people who want to feel the vibe.

Today, I am proud to be part of this country!

Here are many photos and a video or two showing what went on around the country!

Thanks go out to all the people who tweeted and linked to photos!

Jwaneezborg
Mike Stopforth
Fred Roed
Peter du Toit
mikesharman
AmandaSevasti
palesa08
deanoelsch
katiepossum
Sproutsmom
AMyburgh
youngBLOOD

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Images of Cape Town Stadium and Cape Town – produced by African Renaissance Productions and Silver Bullet Productions – to get copies of the images – go to – www.africanrenaissance.co.za

Hat tip to Blacknotes for more great content!

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