Two Sides Of The Same Coin

“More than any other nation, South Africa articulates its dreams through sport,” read a recent TIME Magazine article by Alex Perry that went into circulation following Oscar Pistorius’ arrest for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. 

In South Africa, sport has a history of representing hope. With the end of apartheid in 1994, the country experienced extreme unrest. President Nelson Mandela adopted rugby, a traditionally Afrikaans sport, and the country’s home victory in the 1995 World Cup united a very divided nation. In 2010, the FIFA World Cup announced to the world that “Africa was no longer the hopeless continent but a waking point of capability and opportunity.” And in 2012, a man with no legs - yes, Oscar Pistorius - achieved victory in a sport he could have easily written off as out of reach: running. (Perry, 2013)

Nelson Mandela presents the
rugby World Cup to Francois Pienaar
(from the link above)

Invictus, a popular movie that tells of
Mandela's alliance with the
rugby captain to unite the country

During my (almost) two months in Cape Town, I’ve had the opportunity to experience vastly different sporting events: cricket at Newlands Cricket Ground and football (soccer) at Athlone Stadium.

Veeral, a friend I met as I was leaving a braai hosted by one of last year’s Ambassadorial Scholars, offered me the chance to attend the cricket match. He had an extra ticket for a box seat at the stadium, and being a cultural experience I knew nothing about, I jumped on the chance. Prior to leaving the house that morning, I couldn’t have even told you whether I was going to a cricket game or a cricket match.

It turned out to be a lot of fun. The stadium, which is in Newlands, holds 51,900 people, but there were nowhere near that many fans present. Newlands is an upmarket residential area in the Southern Suburbs area, and it has an American suburb feel. The stadium is right in the mix with quaint homes and car dealerships, almost as if it were dropped on top of an existing neighborhood.

Newlands Cricket Ground
(www.southafricatourismonline.com)

South Africa vs. Pakistan
(http://www.nbcnews.com/id/33097505/?q=Pakistan)

I’m still not quite sure of the logistics of the game, but I know more now than I used to know! For example, cricket matches are played on a field, at the center of which there is a pitch. Because test matches last several days, fans tend to leisurely come and go rather than try to catch every single play of the event. South Africa defeated Pakistan in this test match by four wickets.

Matt and Eric, two guy friends we spend quite a lot of time with, get credit for our football (soccer) experience at Athlone Stadium. They work at Chris Campbell Memorial Field in Khayelitsha, a local township, and are avid fans of the sport. With Lindsey already in tow, they picked me up after class on Wednesday and we headed to Athlone Stadium on The Cape Flats, an area with which Newlands has more contrast than comparison. Historically, The Cape Flats have been home to many who were forced out of central urban areas by race-based legislation during apartheid into government housing and informal settlements.

Chippa vs. Kaizer at Athlone Stadium

We watched Chippa United (of Cape Town) play the Kaizer Chiefs (of Johannesburg), which was especially thrilling because of the matchup’s dually South African roots. The stadium holds 30,000 people, and it was quite filled with enthusiastic fans, many with vuvuzelas in tow. Considered "The People's Game" in South Africa, it is football (soccer) that inspires loud cheers from all corners of the city, including a pub just up the street from our house.  Watching the fans proved to be more entertaining than the game itself, as I was amazed by the passion and fervor each person had for his or her team. It seemed that every person was decked in team colors and dancing or singing in support of their pick.

Culture reveals itself in everyday customs and values, and attending these events introduced me to different sides of the multi-faceted culture of Cape Town. In a way, the contrasting cricket and football events were like seeing two sides of the same coin; both experiences represented South Africa's love for sport, but from two incredibly different perspectives. Now I'm looking forward to adding rugby, the third of the country's three most popular sports, to the list!