You know people are generally sports-crazy when button-downs with team logos are acceptable office wear and when the women in your office will have a 30 min conversation around rugby.
You also realize the impact of isolation on South Africa after a while – isolation of the races during apartheid, but also isolation of South Africa in general vs. the world. If you think about it, the ANC leadership in exile was probably some of the most exposed/international South Africans during the late apartheid years.
One consequence I haven’t mentioned is on sports loyalties. Rugby is a big deal here, but surprisingly there is more passion around local teams than around the national Springboks team. People will wear Blue Bulls or Stormers-logoed dress shirts to work, and one of my clients always wore a Blue Bulls belt buckle. During a conversation, everything fell into place: because the Springboks really couldn’t travel until after 1994, all sports passions revolved around the regional teams. (On the other hand, college sports are just beginning to get a little notice over here in contrast to the college mania in the U.S.)
You might argue this is the same in the U.S.: more people watch their NBA team than watch the Dream Team during the Olympics. However, for U.S. sports an international competition is rare (really just the Olympics or World Cup). For rugby, however, there are multiple international leagues that take place during the regular rugby year.
South Africa’s cricket team, the Proteas (named after a SA flower), had another disappointing exit in the quarterfinals of the Test cricket World Cup this year. I got to watch a thrilling Pakistan/India semifinal game that was just huge.
South Africans can watch a lot of sports, because there are 7 sports channels (Super Sports 1-7) that come with the basic TV package here.
It would take a very special game (World Cup 42?) to displace college football as my favorite sport, but I have come to enjoy Champions League soccer, cricket, and Super 15 rugby. For a guy who was never remotely interested in soccer from back in the U.S., that’s a big shift.
You also realize the impact of isolation on South Africa after a while – isolation of the races during apartheid, but also isolation of South Africa in general vs. the world. If you think about it, the ANC leadership in exile was probably some of the most exposed/international South Africans during the late apartheid years.
One consequence I haven’t mentioned is on sports loyalties. Rugby is a big deal here, but surprisingly there is more passion around local teams than around the national Springboks team. People will wear Blue Bulls or Stormers-logoed dress shirts to work, and one of my clients always wore a Blue Bulls belt buckle. During a conversation, everything fell into place: because the Springboks really couldn’t travel until after 1994, all sports passions revolved around the regional teams. (On the other hand, college sports are just beginning to get a little notice over here in contrast to the college mania in the U.S.)
You might argue this is the same in the U.S.: more people watch their NBA team than watch the Dream Team during the Olympics. However, for U.S. sports an international competition is rare (really just the Olympics or World Cup). For rugby, however, there are multiple international leagues that take place during the regular rugby year.
South Africa’s cricket team, the Proteas (named after a SA flower), had another disappointing exit in the quarterfinals of the Test cricket World Cup this year. I got to watch a thrilling Pakistan/India semifinal game that was just huge.
South Africans can watch a lot of sports, because there are 7 sports channels (Super Sports 1-7) that come with the basic TV package here.
It would take a very special game (World Cup 42?) to displace college football as my favorite sport, but I have come to enjoy Champions League soccer, cricket, and Super 15 rugby. For a guy who was never remotely interested in soccer from back in the U.S., that’s a big shift.
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