Well, in all my days listening to "AM 567 Cape Talk Radio," I have not heard such a controversy as this. It started with today's newspaper. Front page. Almost a 2 inch headline. In fact, it was the lead story. More important than the response from the ANC Youth League to the plans announced Tuesday of the former Defense Minister and other ANC party elders to leave the ANC and form a new party. Yes, more important than the potential split of the ANC was the decision reached yesterday by a meeting of executives of the Ministry of Sport to implement a 1992 decision to require all South African national teams to be called the "Proteas." In an effort to create a more unified country, the 1992 conference decided that the apartheid era name for all national sports teams, "the Springboks," would no longer be used, and it would be replaced by the national flower, the "Proteas." The national cricket team used to be known as "the Springboks," and is now known as "the Proteas." But, the rugby team had a deep identification with "The Boks," and had held out making the change. No longer. According to Saturday's Cape Argus newspaper, the rugby team will need to change its name in time for a tour of England in a month.
Rugby as the Holy Realm of the White Male South African
It is hard for us Americans to understand the power of this. For one, we don't really have an emblem for a national sports team that competes on an international level. Did the "Dream Team" have a mascot? How about the "Ryder Cup?" I don't think so. They just play for the good ol' "stars and stripes." Secondly, we don't have a team that has had such success on an international stage. The "Boks" won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and again in 2007. In fact, at the 1995 championship game, Mandela came out onto the "pitch" wearing a #6 Springboks jersey and hat! That was seen as a major statement of unity on his part. The police were so nervous about his appearance at the game, fearing an attack on Mandela's life, that the stadium was lined with sharp-shooters. Again, rugby was the white man's game, and the Springboks were the white man's team.
It is hard for us Americans to understand the power of this. For one, we don't really have an emblem for a national sports team that competes on an international level. Did the "Dream Team" have a mascot? How about the "Ryder Cup?" I don't think so. They just play for the good ol' "stars and stripes." Secondly, we don't have a team that has had such success on an international stage. The "Boks" won the Rugby World Cup in 1995 and again in 2007. In fact, at the 1995 championship game, Mandela came out onto the "pitch" wearing a #6 Springboks jersey and hat! That was seen as a major statement of unity on his part. The police were so nervous about his appearance at the game, fearing an attack on Mandela's life, that the stadium was lined with sharp-shooters. Again, rugby was the white man's game, and the Springboks were the white man's team.
So, it is 13 years after the 1995 world cup victory. And even though Mandela had agreed to allow the team to compete in 1995 under the Springbok name, as a gesture of unity, somehow the South African Rugby Union has managed to avoid the inevitable: letting go of its racist past, and becoming part of the new South Africa and adopting the "Proteas" as the symbol.
By the way, Naomi and I took a walk through Kirstenbosch gardens this morning, and saw some fine Protea specimens. We were especially taken by the "King Protea," whose picture I've attached. Now, I've got to admit that the Springbok is cute and all, and that the Protea is after all, a flower. And we are talking about the most macho of sports, rugby. But, the "King Protea" is pretty impressive...
By the way, Naomi and I took a walk through Kirstenbosch gardens this morning, and saw some fine Protea specimens. We were especially taken by the "King Protea," whose picture I've attached. Now, I've got to admit that the Springbok is cute and all, and that the Protea is after all, a flower. And we are talking about the most macho of sports, rugby. But, the "King Protea" is pretty impressive... Such Clear Division
Listening to talk radio today, I was pretty shocked at how the callers were so clearly divided along racial lines. Almost every white caller, both Afriakaner and British, said some version of "Get over it! It's only a symbol. Let's stop being distracted by this nonsense." And almost every black or "coloured" caller said some version of "It's way overdue! This sport was racist, is racist, and will continue to be racist until we make a break with this ugly past." The director of the Soweto Rugby Union was quoted in the paper as saying the "Springbok is like the Swastika in Nazi Germany."
The Power of Symbols
Now you might say, "how could such a cute little antelope have such ugly connotations?" Afterall, the Swastika is steeped in racist symbolism and ideology. The Springbok is just a cute little antelope, no? Well, I guess it depends what side of the antlers that you were on! For many South Africans (read "white"), they look at the Springbok and think of the last 13 years since the end of apartheid, and they think of two Rugby World Cups, they think of national pride, they think of coming out of isolation and competing, and winning, on the biggest international stage (next to the SOCCER world cup). For them, the Springbok is about national pride and unity. Yes, unity. Afterall, Mandela wore the Springbok jersey in 1995. (I heard a few callers make this very comment.)
For the majority of South Africans (read "not-white"), the Springbok is THE SYMBOL of apartheid oppression. It is a powerful reminder of how they were denied the right to participate in what the most powerful men in the country felt to be THE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL ACTIVITY. "Springbok" means a big boot on your neck. It means separation. It means division.
Probably, the closest controversy we Americans have to this, is the "Flag of Dixie." However, that was politics, nationhood, a bloody civil war. This is sport. In a way, this seems to be even deeper, as if it is the last thing that many of the white South Africans feel that they have left from the world that was. So, here's my question. Is it possible to get over our own love for something which is so clearly causing such pain for others? Is it possible for the die-hard Springbok fans to see the pain that their beloved symbol causes for others? Afterall, it is only a symbol, isn't it?
It seems this is at the core of the challenges facing this fledgling multicultural nation. When the past was so littered with symbols of oppression, what is there to build on? Ultimately, I did find this image on-line, somewhat of a hybrid: a Springbok with a Protea holding a rugby ball in the background. Maybe the image needs to be reversed: a giant King Protea, with a little tiny Springbok in the background. Or maybe we just need to "call a Springbok a Springbok," and get on with the process of building a truly united country.
Blog ya later.
Seth./.
