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, 10:19 am
@Muttonbird-195:
Maoris can be very friendly.
Te Rangi has already invited me over for a threesome.
20 Feb 2013, 10:20 am
@the curse-197:
Well mate….heres to the Blues….
20 Feb 2013, 10:21 am
@the curse-199: that would depend on the particular long pig now wouldn’t it? According to Fern most NZ girls would qualify?
See OScar’s sh.it is getting more real by the minute. The judge should handle the appplication like drugs – just say no.
20 Feb 2013, 10:22 am
@the curse-183:
some might take it the wrong way and then you will be accused of racism as well as cheating
Kia Ora Pops
You must add the smiley face
Or mention Monty Python, then everyone will know when you are joking or when you are being serious
Don’t mention black humor
20 Feb 2013, 10:23 am
@gunther-201: maybe he wants to taste some boerewors?
Just check you didn’t get confused – big difference between a three course and intercourse.
20 Feb 2013, 10:23 am
@David-194:
Indeed.
The income gap between gunther and fuckadilly is wider than Zoomer’s broekies.
20 Feb 2013, 10:24 am
@Dilligafrican-205:
20 Feb 2013, 10:25 am
@gunther-201:
haha…..yep Gunther……friendly ….the Maori, you have to get with the Tangata Whenua one day….we’ll be glad to have you…..swt
20 Feb 2013, 10:29 am
@Te Rangatira-202: big game, could shape the whole season imo… am excited by our backline, just not sure theyll get enough quality ball.. whats the blues current financial status and have they been on the direct line to to the IRB?
@Dilligafrican-203: heheh according to Fern, they are still of the bush variety, and he apparently has a thing for getting back to nature…
@nortierd-204: Kei te pai Nortie? you mean I need to tell everyone when Im being sarcarstic? okay, will give it a go
I think the Bulls are the team to beat this year
20 Feb 2013, 10:30 am
@Te Rangatira-208: from all accounts should feed the whole iwi
20 Feb 2013, 10:31 am
@the curse-209:
Ha ha
Blue humor
I like that
Actually you can still get away with black humor, the Sharks have been doing that for all these years playing in black jerseys
20 Feb 2013, 10:31 am
@Dilligafrican-205:
I don’t think he was suggesting that a park my waka in his boathouse.
I think he was just being friendly.
20 Feb 2013, 10:33 am
Come Sunday and the Kings will be firmly entrenched as the Jar Jar Binks of Superrugby.
20 Feb 2013, 10:34 am
@the curse-209:
There will always be backers of the Blues. Player development is a problem, we need to find the players with the big motors. The Blues are explosive, but have they the staying power?
20 Feb 2013, 10:35 am
@nortierd-211:
mentioning the “sharks” and “playing” in the same sentence is indeed razor sharp wit..
theyre like giving your younger brother some matches and a firecracker, you know someones going to get hurt but youre not sure there’ll ever be a big boom..
20 Feb 2013, 10:37 am
@Te Rangatira-214: league is encroaching on our youngsters too, that in itself is a real worry.. Blues need smarter people behind the scenes showing the young uns there is a path to make the Blues squad..
hence my disappointment with JK going out of the catchment area for a large number of players..
20 Feb 2013, 10:38 am
@the curse-215:
It’s the fizzle I enjoy….
The problem is if your younger brother is a little “slow” then the cracker somehow ends up in his throat causing severe choking
20 Feb 2013, 10:43 am
@the curse-216:
He had to imo….the blend or the mix wasn’t right with the Lam recipe, therefore half the squad made up of newcomers for 2013…
20 Feb 2013, 10:45 am
@nortierd-217:
hehe
20 Feb 2013, 10:45 am
@the curse-216:
League has always had a good following in Auckland, coupled with the pathways for young players in the wider Nrl….yes there is battle for talent
20 Feb 2013, 10:46 am
Botha says the fact the shots hit Steenkamp on her right-hand side indicates she was not sitting on the toilet but was hiding in a different position.
He says the shots were aimed at the toilet bowl. The toilet itself is in the room and to the left. You wouldn’t hit the toilet itself if you fired straight at the door, he says; you’d miss it.
Fark looking very dark for Oscar.
20 Feb 2013, 10:47 am
@gunther-221: Flushing out the truth here?
20 Feb 2013, 10:48 am
@nortierd-167: actually I reckon the Sharks have a great deal of support in the EC, if not the most. Probably by some distance. Then it is probably the Crusaders and then perhaps the Bulls.
Kings v Sharks and Kings v Crusaders will be the main derby games for the locals.
20 Feb 2013, 10:48 am
@stormersboy-123: Hi again – I was out for a while. Yes CJ has been a liability since the 2007 World Cup.
Ben and Owen Franks can play both sides I think. They are the exception to the rule though. I think there was a Frenchman a while back but I can’t recall his name.
The Stormers’ experiment with Brok hasn’t worked either. I’ve also never been a fan of Deon Carstens.
I can recall a joke about a versatile (all-rounder) cricket player: he couldn’t bowl and he couldn’t bat – definitely an all-rounder lol !! Some of the props fit that description
20 Feb 2013, 10:49 am
@Te Rangatira-220: Auck/Wellington the two big league centres in NZ..
20 Feb 2013, 10:56 am
@the curse-225:
Yep…Theres a National Secondary Schools RL comp….so league getting a foothold in the schools now, Nationally.
20 Feb 2013, 10:56 am
@BrumbiesBoy-222:
Indeed.
Oscars going down the Tubes here.
Looks like she was hiding and he was deliberately aiming at her.
20 Feb 2013, 10:59 am
@Te Rangatira-226: that may just allow second rate teams like SA a chance to catch us up..
not good
20 Feb 2013, 11:00 am
@gunther-221:
Not looking good at all.
20 Feb 2013, 11:01 am
@gunther-227:
Is this the main trial already?
20 Feb 2013, 11:04 am
@Te Rangatira-230:
Bail hearing.
But the key focus is the same.
Murder vs lesser charges.
So in essence a mini trial.
No juries here donuts all out in the open.
20 Feb 2013, 11:04 am
@Te Rangatira-230: No, no.
Still only the bail application.
20 Feb 2013, 11:05 am
@Te Rangatira-230:
Just the bail hearing.
Trying to prove if it was shcedule 6 or premeditated murder. Thatll mean no bail for Oscar.
20 Feb 2013, 11:05 am
@Te Rangatira-230: bail hearing.. state is opposing bail…if the case only starts next year that’s long time at Pretoria prison for Oskido
20 Feb 2013, 11:06 am
ball – bail
20 Feb 2013, 11:06 am
@ShaunB-223:
Very possible Shaun
My point of reference is only the people I know, and I found it strange that they are staunch Bull supporters.
I just wonder if the will remain with the Bulls or whether they will switch to the Kings?
20 Feb 2013, 11:09 am
@gunther-231:
@BrumbiesBoy-232:
Seems to be moving at quite rapidly…which is a good thing I suppose.. but the defences strategy has to be spot on from the get go.
20 Feb 2013, 11:13 am
@Te Rangatira-237: His sh.it is getting real and his version makes no sense.
20 Feb 2013, 11:13 am
@gunther-221: Can’t see this being lowered to a Schedule 5 based on the evidence thus far…
The brother and lawyer arriving at the house shortly after to gain access to the safe for the ‘memory stick’ with details of offshore accounts (which weren’t mentioned in his list of assets yesterday) is already dodgier than ET’s struggle credentials.
Playing out as most thought it would.
The statements he made directly after the shooting have cooked his goose….. when you put the ‘intruder’ story out there, you’ve gotta run with it…….and that statement of his yesterday was a patchwork of ‘explanations’ for what they thought the states case might be. (Even his alleged shout for the intruder ‘to leave his house’, is going to be passed off as the ‘screaming’ the neighbour heard – butshytegetsreal when today it’s announced that the neighbour has attested to 60 minutes of non stop shouting….)
Nah, that statement – the end. And don’t bank on Peruval being able to explain away (or provide alternate scenarios) for every bit of state forensic evidence.
The phones too are going to interesting…..
20 Feb 2013, 11:14 am
@Te Rangatira-237:
Right now Oscar’s defence is looking shakier than Bafana’s.
20 Feb 2013, 11:15 am
@the curse-216: Rich Auckland Schools have been the cause of the current sickness in Auckland Rugby. They poach young Polynesian players from poorer backgrounds and teach them to just show up to get their paycheck. Straight on to the academies and into the rep teams before they know what’s going on. These kids would be better off learning the game in their own communities/clubs rather than being hand-picked into stardom. They’d give their own communities a lot of pleasyre too rather than being stolen away by Kings and AGS, etc.
20 Feb 2013, 11:16 am
@The Sharks rugby pedigree is packaged as dog food-239:
I’ve always felt the phone records would be key.
I’d wager that her phone sparked the argument.
20 Feb 2013, 11:18 am
i cant really read aby of the oscar coverage.
it makes me too sad.
lives destroyed, pain in every sentence he utters, lies and hatred.
nah, i am going fishing. at least underwater the only sound is the whales and the voice in my head saying “GET SOME FRIKKEN AIR YOU DIMWIT!!!”
20 Feb 2013, 11:18 am
Oscar will walk. The Bees Roux case set the precedent here where Oscar’s team will be able to “settle out of court” for whatever money it will take. That is if Reeva Steenkamp’s family needs/want the money. That is all his fate hinges on.
After all, T.I.A.
20 Feb 2013, 11:19 am
@Te Rangatira-237: Theyarefucked. To be fair though: they can only work with what their ‘client’ has given them. And his actions, explanations etc directly after the shooting, did not provide them with much to work with…….
All they can do (based on Oscar’s own ‘admissions and actions’) is cast just a little doubt over the states version and forensic/ballistic evidence, and hope Nair under influence of a little ‘doubt’, possibly reschedules it back down to a 5 once evidence is over, and Oscar manages to get bail…..
Not gonna happen.
20 Feb 2013, 11:19 am
@John Galt-229:
I disagree, things are looking good for him.
On his way to getting some free lodging without work. Free meals and TV included.
He can also further his studying at no cost.
Great bargain.
All these things are seemingly only for the priveledged in SA.
20 Feb 2013, 11:21 am
@Muttonbird-244:
Are you sure you are a real Keewee?
You are starting to sound like a transplant.
20 Feb 2013, 11:23 am
@gunther-247: Sure am my friend. That Bees Roux case really caught my attention because I couldn’t believe you could bludgeon a cop to death on the street and not serve one night in jail. All it took was US$80,000 and he was a free man.
20 Feb 2013, 11:25 am
@gunther-242: There is an iPad in the mix as well I think. The really sad thing here is: throwing the ‘intruder’ story out there, when calling friends/family, 5 minutes after the shooting (and before calling the private ambulance service you allege you called) shows some measure of covering onces butt and planning a defence at that time…..
His first mistake was uttering those words out loud to all and sundry…the other actions can all be explained away in terms of a ‘traumatised’ person etc. But that statement….and the fact that he is now stuck with it, as his ‘D’ for better (not) and for worse (box ticked).
20 Feb 2013, 11:26 am
@Muttonbird-248:
Well when you say it like that, yes. Unbelievable.
You need to have a closer look at the case though buddy.
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