For a scintillating 90 minutes at the Mbombela stadium – and around TVs all over the country – we could dream the impossible.
For a scintillating 90 minutes during the Boks game at the Mbombela stadium – and around TVs all over the country – we could dream the impossible… that, despite all of our problems, South Africans can be the Rainbow Nation archbishop Desmond Tutu once dreamed of.
When Springbok captain Siya Kolisi hoisted the Rugby Championship trophy into the spring Lowveld air, after emotionally calling Bok cap record holder Eben Etzebeth “my brother”, many of our differences – of race, of gender, of politics – seemed to melt away.
Here, suggested a commentator on social media, is an opportunity for someone to do a PhD study on why a bunch of rugby players have managed to forge a spirit of national unity that our politicians could not or would not.
But, will that fervour last much longer that it took many fans to drive home from Mbombela? And how real was it in the first place? Nobody loves a loser, so that wave of patriotism after the Boks’ emphatic 48-7 drubbing of Argentina would have been fuelled by the team’s underlining of the fact that we are the world champions.
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If we had lost and didn’t take home another trophy, would the euphoria have been absent? There is still a huge gap between rich and poor in this country and no amount of flag waving and singing of the national anthem is going to close that gap or assuage the anger that comes from being on the wrong side of it.
Race, thanks to populist politicians, is still an issue and becoming bigger as it is used as a diversion by many of our leaders. Yet, Kolisi and the Boks have shown that South Africans can get going when the going gets tough. They set an example for all of us, in urging us, however subtly, to follow their lead.
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