Why winning isn’t everything
20 Feb 2013
MARK KEOHANE, in his Business Day Sport Monthly column, says we live in a miracle country and it’s time we started appreciating the miracle of sport.
Sport is entertainment and it is also about effort. A fixation with just the result is going to lead to a lot of heartache.
It wasn’t that long ago when South Africa wasn’t allowed to compete internationally. Familiarity breeds contempt and irrationally so.
Feel good about the joy of indulging in the performance of South Africans, who are among the best ever produced in their respective codes.
We put huge pressure on our performers to produce every time, but the fans and the media have as much of a responsibility in their performance post match.
We also need to grow up and show some perspective to the effort of the individual or team and give credit to the quality of the opposition. There are times when they just are better and they actually win and we actually lose.
For those who are inspired to live in this country only when South Africa wins, take some responsibility for your own emotions. Similarly, don’t blame a poor SA performance for your depression. No player is losing deliberately and no national player should be subjected to the hate and vitriol published on Twitter.
It sickens me that people can actually feel a justification in the abuse and believe they are owed something by the player and that the player has a responsibility to ensure their happiness. The abuse is disgusting and can never be justified. There is so much to applaud and there is a generation of South African performer that is the best ever produced in this country. What a privilege it is to watch them at their peak.
Look beyond the need for a winning result and imagine South Africa being in sporting isolation. It is pathetic how fans think players are there to instil nationalism. Go do that yourself and start enjoying the sport and keep perspective.
There is life the next day and sport always gives your team or the individual a chance to get it right or to flop.
It is an honour to play for one’s country, but it is not a crime to lose and supporters need to take their insecurity and deal with it.
In the days of isolation we never played anyone and never lost. So we allowed ourselves to believe we were the best in everything. The reality is we are not the best in all things sport and that does not deserve the crassness I read on Twitter.
I get irritated with a lot of our sports media coverage, especially in newsprint. It is always all or nothing, as if every win defines the miracle of this country and defeat brings the possibility of doom. Inspire me with a solution instead of repeating what I saw on television 24 hours earlier and what I have read on the Internet a day earlier.
The media is more guilty than the fans in the buzz and the blowout. I have been as guilty as anyone at times of my career so I certainly don’t preach from a pedestal of purity, but rather from a place of apology.
The daily sports media though need to get a grip and invest in some perspective.
An example was the Proteas ODI series defeat against New Zealand. The Proteas did not play well but the game was apparently in crisis after the series defeat and the euphoria of being the best Test team in the world a few days earlier was an afterthought.
The hysteria was excessive, just like the condemnation and ridicule of New Zealand’s tour only a few days earlier. Appreciate the players and the fact that it’s not you out there on days when all is failing save the potency of the opponent.
There’s an added spice when you know you are watching a performer unrivalled in their field and at the peak of their performance.
The South African bowling attack gives me that sense of awe. Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis evoke a similar emotion and Graeme Smith is just never going to get the reward for his effort. No other Test captain in the history of the game has achieved as much.
Smith, having gone past 100 Test matches as captain, still has his doubters. Give him a break. There is a serious projection of insecurity and delusion among many of the South African fans in the way they react to the players.
A guy like Smith must be judged on how he plays and not for how his gum chewing may irk you. It is massive what he has achieved yet there are so many who burden him with not wearing enough flags on his T-shirt and not being proudly South African.
This is sport. Nationalism looks after itself and it can’t be all taken from the player’s performance. We owe the player the simple courtesy of a dignified interaction that does not start with an attack on his mother’s hair colour and outright abuse.
Grow up you trolls or inspire with your cleverness.
Oh, and one last thing, why the obsession with having to feel the need to retire great players at the start of a season because they are supposedly blocking the path of a 21-year-old?
Give the more mature form players the necessary respect. They’ve earned the right through performance to a bit of loyalty. Our rugby players offer the promise of silverware in Super Rugby but the enjoyment must also be in the performance.
Bafana, in African soccer’s big bi-annual one, were brave and belligerent in a tournament I hoped they could win but never quite had the conviction to believe it was possible. They lost in the quarter-finals on penalties, which was a cruel yet also a dignified exit for the hosts. Dignified in it allowed us to dream of what could have been without confronting the reality of what would most likely have been had they advanced to the semi-final or final.
Bafana played with passion and the support of a nation was a boost, but there are limitations to the current side and the desire to associate with success should also not be confused with the expectation that if they don’t win a tournament they have failed.
Equally our Super Rugby teams.
– This article first appeared in the March issue of Business Day Sport Monthly, which is distributed FREE with the newspaper on the second last Friday of every month.
1,128 Comments
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20 Feb 2013, 19:03 pm
@ Agile
JC ,Vrede and Duncan do not write for keo anymore.They’re busy with their own blog, Sarugbyfags.co.za
This site is wildly popular amongst our Sharkie friends,I wonder why…
20 Feb 2013, 19:05 pm
@NZINCHINA-648:
Yes opinions….speaking of which, what do they call Skoppie these days? How many namechanges has the banhammer driven that poor sod to?
Meh, I guess I’ll know as soon as he open his rooster cleaner.
20 Feb 2013, 19:08 pm
@Rage-651:
They don’t? Oh, gee. So his expression was effeminate disgust, not trepidation? I see, I see.
Well, let us bow in a moment of silence, some of our departed members even to the knee.
20 Feb 2013, 19:09 pm
@Spiesisworthless1-630: Oh, yes.
@NZINCHINA-637: Now he is indeed a who, then he scored a try in Durbs, I thought it was start of a payback for Bloem, alas, turned out even more diabolical performance by the Blacks, Sivi especially had a shocker there.
20 Feb 2013, 19:09 pm
@Anairetes agilis-652:
Was that your opinion about Chinese people, squinty eyed *******?
20 Feb 2013, 19:09 pm
@Rage-651:
Has the quality of this Blog gone up or has it rather improved sinced JC left?
20 Feb 2013, 19:10 pm
@NZINCHINA-655:
No, that was just a factual observation.
20 Feb 2013, 19:10 pm
@polaris-654:
Soft under belly best suited for Japan and the sumo leagues?
20 Feb 2013, 19:11 pm
@NZINCHINA-626: Honestly, then I would become bored as h*ll. An odd slump helps keep in shape.
20 Feb 2013, 19:11 pm
@Anairetes agilis-657:
Really that’s sad buddy but it doesn’t surprise me
20 Feb 2013, 19:12 pm
@NZINCHINA-658: Green pastures without too much stress there. No such luxury in Europe.
20 Feb 2013, 19:12 pm
Why don’t you tell me what race you are and I’ll give you a quick summary.
20 Feb 2013, 19:15 pm
@NZINCHINA-662:
South African?
20 Feb 2013, 19:16 pm
@the curse-663: my bad, thats not a race, its a nationality
mind you, Ive been called racist for describing some of them as neanderthals..
lmfao… tumeke bro
20 Feb 2013, 19:18 pm
@NZINCHINA-662:
I’m the funky version of Dutch, my mother was a hamster and my father smelled of elderberries.
Guys, why doesn’t Keo have a debate-friendly PM system yet?
Come on Keo! I sense that NZINCHINA wants to send me a friendrequest….
20 Feb 2013, 19:18 pm
666
20 Feb 2013, 19:22 pm
@Anairetes agilis-665:
I’m disappointed you choose to call my daughters squinty eyed ******* but I understand where it comes from, you’ll work it out one day even if your father and grandfather didn’t.
20 Feb 2013, 19:23 pm
@Anairetes agilis-650: Things are good thanks, and thanks for the image lol.
20 Feb 2013, 19:26 pm
Tell us how you really feel.
20 Feb 2013, 19:27 pm
@NZINCHINA-667:
I never called your daughters squinty-eyed ********, I would’ve called them squinty-eyed *******.
LOL Just kidding, welcome to a South African rugby blog, where everyone’s invited for a warm cup of IDGAF.
Relax buddy, I’m on your side. Are you going to start talking is short choppy sentences now? I love the Chinese, where would the *** trafficking industry be without them? Not to mention our cheap labor and appliances.
20 Feb 2013, 19:28 pm
@ 656 Agile
Check the recent articles bru,keo’s been quite hands-on lately…creating a sh¡t storm of controversy along the way.
20 Feb 2013, 19:29 pm
@Rage-671:
Ahhhh, I see.
Aw, with JC gone, who is Tacitus going to be mocking now?
We’ve lost a bit of Keo heritage.
20 Feb 2013, 19:34 pm
@Anairetes agilis-672: And Ryan, I used to enjoy mocking him, and it’s too much trouble to register on the new site just for that purpose.
20 Feb 2013, 19:37 pm
@Anairetes agilis-670:
Is that what your Daddy said at the truth and reconciliation hearings?
20 Feb 2013, 19:40 pm
@ 672 ATT
AFAIK there’s only two writers left here,keo himself and one Richard Ferguson,with keo having to endure daily uitk@k sessions from almal.
20 Feb 2013, 19:41 pm
@NZINCHINA-674:
Are you still complaining, everytime I see you here, you’re complaining
Here’s come Chinese wisdom:
Confucius say: Prisoners complain behind bars, husbands complain in them.
So, are you a prisoner here, or is it happy hour again?
20 Feb 2013, 19:46 pm
@stormersboy-673:
Ag shame, fallout?
@Rage-675:
What happened to Kep TV? They didn’t give the female personalitits enough airtime, that’s what.
20 Feb 2013, 19:46 pm
@Anairetes agilis-676:
There should have been no forgiveness.
20 Feb 2013, 19:52 pm
@Anairetes agilis-677: Anyone’s guess. He hooked up with Tank Lanning for a while who is a great writer but that fell apart, no clue why, or why the HSM divorce.
20 Feb 2013, 19:54 pm
@NZINCHINA-678:
Then you wouldn’t have been here to contemplate it.
cheers
Anyways, when the Bulls stampede your precious Stormers, I’ll be here to rub it in SB and Rage, have fun until then.
20 Feb 2013, 19:57 pm
@Anairetes agilis-680: Will you also be here if it doesn’t happen we do the stampeding?
20 Feb 2013, 19:59 pm
@stormersboy-679:
For better or for worse, I’ve made the necessary changes to my fantasy team. Last week, I fell on my face.
20 Feb 2013, 20:02 pm
@I am a stormer-682: I did ok last week, courtesy of Mogg and O Connor. I will have to think carefully about this weekend’s matches.
20 Feb 2013, 20:02 pm
@ 680 ATT
Cheers,neef
681 SB
Doubt it!
20 Feb 2013, 20:08 pm
@stormersboy-683:
Tell me, now that you’re in the know – what is happening to the centre JP du Plessis – is he playing Vodacom Cup, has he fallen from grace? He had a good CC then got injured if I recall.
20 Feb 2013, 20:33 pm
@I am a stormer-685: I think he’s still injured but Stormersboy should know more
20 Feb 2013, 20:39 pm
@CharlesM-686:
Thanks mate. I rate that guy – hope he sticks around at Province. He’s a good attacking centre rather than one of those crash ball types.
20 Feb 2013, 20:43 pm
@I am a stormer-685: @CharlesM-686: Correct still injured, he hurt his back in pre season. He won’t be back before April at the earliest. Possibly later depending on how it goes.
He’s a promising player, AC rates him and he was part of the pre season squad.
On another note Gary Van Aswegen was training with the “B” squad on Monday, he looked very energetic and keen.
20 Feb 2013, 20:44 pm
Here is something very tough(like jerky/biltong) for the confused, who thrive in sowing and spreading their confusion far and wide. Aptly it is about supper time for the lazy.
” The case has stunned sports fans worldwide.
But it has been felt most acutely in South Africa, where Pistorius was seen as a hero who transcended racial divides that persist nearly 20 years after the end of apartheid. ” UNQUOTE
I especially emphasise these words ” … a hero who transcends racial divide that persists almost 20 years after …… ”
This explains why factions of people in and around the ANC are involved both ways, but so stupidly. It may also explain why it is seemingly possible for the muderer to get bail – deliberate collusion both sides of the divide(money talks loud for a simple error or two).
It also tells you fools that your pretense of a non-racial state/society is nothing but a figment of your cheating, hypocritical minds.It can be witnessed in every sector of every corner of the country.
20 Feb 2013, 20:46 pm
@I am a stormer-687: Yep I agree! I don’t think he’ll leave soon – he’s just started to showcase his talent and I think AC & co rate him.
Let’s hope he sticks around for a long time (and is well looked after) !!
20 Feb 2013, 20:51 pm
Further that quote goes on with these words :
” He carried South Africa’s flag at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics, and American magazine Sports Illustrated named him as one of the most inspiring figures of the year. ”
It is not so difficult to attempt to live a lie for up to R17million plus/ year , but with all that pressure even from that income the lie will be exposed by some ungodly, but stupid action.
20 Feb 2013, 20:52 pm
@stormersboy-688:
Thanks for that. Hope van aswegen gets eased back – 20 – 30 min here and there. The guy nedds to re-build his confidence in a match situation before you’re totally over the injury.
And the heat wave continues – the match at Loftus will be played in temps of around 28 I reckon. Still hot here in jozi at almost 9pm and Pta is always a few degrees warmer.
20 Feb 2013, 20:52 pm
@stormersboy-688: Thanks man! Pity about the back.
It’s about time Gary has a full season! I don’t know if he is merely unlucky or simply injury prone….If he get’s injured again (soon), his confidence will be close to zero.
Let’s hope he is not on the same road as Conrad Hoffman (from pro to somebody looking for a real job)
20 Feb 2013, 20:56 pm
@I am a stormer-692: Better weather means at least the handling will be more consistent I guess.
@CharlesM-693: Gary is really talented but he’s quite a small chap, smaller than I expected. I don’t know how well he will take the big hits over time, he seems to have really struggled of late. I remember watching him and Schreuder at u21 level and thinking that this is the future. Both of them have struggled to make that next step up. Gary more so though.
Hopefully this is a better year for him.
20 Feb 2013, 21:00 pm
@stormersboy-694: I guess we can only hope!
20 Feb 2013, 21:07 pm
cheetahs backline looks outstanding, but their forwards arent great
wp should win it.
20 Feb 2013, 21:24 pm
@cab-696: wp??
20 Feb 2013, 21:33 pm
@CharlesM-697:
stormers to win the comp this year, 3rd time lucky.
20 Feb 2013, 21:46 pm
@cab-698: Okay – I was confused about the Cheetahs / WP “connection” in the same sentence
20 Feb 2013, 21:57 pm
never rated van aswegen at all…maybe if he played more than 3 consecutive games i’d change my mind…before he broke down last year he was nowhere…
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