Racism and Sports? No... (addendum)

Here's an addendum to the previous post on race and rugby. If you haven't read that post (2 September), read that one first.

Allister Sparks' Perspective
I'm reading a great book that had some insights about the race history of South African rugby. It is called "Beyond the Miracle: Inside the New South Africa" by Allister Sparks. Sparks is a South African journalist, and anti-apartheid activist. This is the 3rd book in his series on the history of South Africa. He's a great writer, and was a key player in many of the events that he describes over the past 3 decades. (Thanks to Steven Levinson for turning me on to these books. Invaluable!)

In a chapter in which he writes about Mandela's brilliance in recognizing the importance of not allienating the Afrikaner community, he cites the following example:

"Mandela's most spectaculaarly successful gesture was his appearance, just one year after becoming President, at the final match of the Rugby World Cup in Johannesburg. Rugby had long been a sporting obsession among white South Africans, the physical expression of their self-image of rugged manhood and national toughness, and few things had pained them more than being shut out of international competition because of the government's insistence on apartheid in sport. By the same token most black South Africans spurned the game, preferring soccer. To them it was the oppressor's sport, and it still rankled with them that rugby's one-time chief adminstrator, Danie Craven, whom whites revered, had once vowed that 'over my dead body will any black man ever war the Sprignbok jersey'."

Well, a year after democracy, South Africa was awarded the host for the 1995 tournament, and the Springboks surprised everybody and made it to the finals against the New Zealand "All Blacks" (how ironic that the "All Blacks" were the opponent!). Sparks then talks about Mandela's decision to be there for the final:

"Mandela, sensing the emotional intensity of the occasion, went to watch what was a nail-biting match. His attendance caused a stir of appreciation in the huge and overwhelmingly Arikaner crowd. When South Africa won dramatically in extra time he walked onto the field wearing a Springbok cap and the captain, Francois Pienaar's, number six jersey to present Pienaar with the trophy. The crowd went wild with delight. 'Nels-son! Nel-son!' they chanted as they waved the colourful new South African flag. As I drove home from the stadium that evening, crowds of cheering, dancing black people clogged the streets and jammed the traffic to a standstill. It was the new South Africa's euphoric high."

It would be nice to see more such euphoric moments...

Blog ya later.

Seth./.