This blog post may be long overdue, but the time has come to
make one of the most important decisions I may have to make during my time here
in South Africa… It’s time to pick a soccer team.
Much like big sports teams at home, age-old rivalries are
alive and well here in Johannesburg. In the South African league, known as the
Premier Soccer League (PSL), sixteen teams compete for the league title every
year. Two of these teams, the Orlando Pirates and the Kaizer Chiefs (also known as Amakhosi), are
fortunate enough to call Soweto their hometown. The Sun Downs, which are also
somewhat part of the rivalry, are based out of Pretoria and also pose a threat
for the top spot in the league. It’s hard to say whether this rivalry tops that
of the Red Sox vs. Yankees, but from what I can tell, it’s pretty serious. And
there’s no doubt that the passion that fans have for these teams is
insurmountable.
Naturally, when making any important decision, a pros and
cons list is necessary. Here are a few that I’ve come up with so far:
1.
I’ve had a chance to go to 2 Chiefs games and
they were both awesome.
2.
They’re sponsored by Nike (As is Grassroot
Soccer)
3.
They randomly practice at the Nike Center in
Soweto
a.
I’ve even gotten pictures with a couple players!
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| Annie (staff member at GRS) was especially excited to meet one of her favorite players. |
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| Kaizer Chiefs official SUV parked outside the Nike Center. |
4.
They are at the top of the table right now in the PSL
5.
Some of South Africa’s biggest players lead this
team (like midfielder Siphiwe Thsabalala
and goal keeper Itumeleng Khune)
6.
They play at FNB Stadium, also known as Soccer
City
Here are some of the perks to being a Pirates fan:
1.
They’ve won the league 2 years running
2.
They have really nice-looking Jerseys
3.
They started up as a team that grew organically
out of Soweto
As I mentioned before, I’ve had a chance to see the Chiefs
play twice already and both times exceeded my expectations. The first game I
went to was the home opener of the season: Chiefs against the Sun Downs. My
roommates/fellow interns Matthew and Karl and I couldn’t wait to see a live
professional game here in Soweto. We were also excited to go see a game at
Soccer City, which was only about 15 minutes from our house at the time,
because the stadium holds a lot of value within South African culture and
history. Not only is it the largest stadium in Africa, but it was also the
first stadium to host a World Cup Tournament match in Africa. It was the venue
of the 2010 World Cup final and closing ceremony and was the site where Bafana
Bafana claimed the African Cup of Nations in 1996. Furthermore, it is the place
where Nelson Mandela was welcomed back into Soweto after his release from
prison in 1990. Needless to say, the stadium holds a lot of significance around
here.
Anyway, we got to the game and simply soaked it all in. By
the end of the first half, the score was 0-0, but the Chiefs took the lead with
two goals in the second half. Chiefs ultimately won the game
2-1, with an unfortunate own-goal committed by the goal keeper. After that
game, I was impressed, but still not fully convinced that my loyalty should lie
with the Chiefs.
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| The pre-game ceremony at Soccer City |
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| Matt and Karl at Soccer City |
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| Matt and I with some Chiefs fans |
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| Karl and I at Soccer City before the Chiefs vs. Sun Downs game |
We were also somewhat amused by the choice of snacks that
some of the fans had at the game. Back home in the states a lot of people are
used to the usual cracker jacks, hot dogs and pretzels (you know, those
delicious artery-clogging foods), but this particular fan decided it was best to
watch his cholesterol at the Chiefs game and chose to nibble on half a head of
cabbage throughout the game.
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| Fan cheering with his head of cabbage in hand. |
Now that was just the first game that we attended. The
second Kaizer Chiefs game that I went to had a much more unexpected and
thrilling ending. About a month ago some of our fellow GRS interns from
Kimberly, Cape Town and Lesotho came for a house-warming visit and for the Chiefs
vs. Black Leopards game. After arriving 20 minutes late to the game and missing
2 goals, we finally settled into some seats about 20 rows back from the field.
Not long after we found our seats, we noticed the temperature drop about ten
degrees. About a minute later, as if almost on queue, there was a mass exodus of
people who got up out of their seats and started heading towards the stairs. It
seemed like everyone else was in on some covert premonition that none of us
interns knew about but we sat there for a couple more minutes while we watched
everyone flood the aisles. Then
all of a sudden I felt a couple of drops, and I think most of us were expecting
a quick rain shower that would eventually pass and allow us to retake our seats…
but there was much more than that on the way.
We quickly followed suit and rushed up the stairs to the
overhang with the rest of the lively Chiefs fans. Soon after reaching the top
of the staircase, hail just came shattering down and everyone simply stood and
watched in disbelief. (Just as a reminder, it’s supposed to be spring time in
South Africa right now.) Anyway, once the game stopped, a few bold souls had
the brilliant idea of rushing the field and dancing in the hail. At first we
were a little hesitant to join in on this madness, but all of us interns just
couldn’t resist… so we ran down to jump over the barricade and onto the field. Under
the bright lights of Soccer City, we ran and danced and jumped in pure elation.
It was one of those times
where you just want to live in the moment and take in all of your surroundings…
being in South Africa, spending time with good friends and running around on a World
Cup Championship Field. Definitely an unforgettable experience.
After countless minutes of the stadium’s announcer begging
everyone to get off the field, we all reluctantly made our way back up to the
overhang. But the fun didn’t end there. We spent the next hour or so singing,
dancing and taking pictures with Chiefs fans around the stadium. Even though
the game had stopped and it was clear that it wouldn’t resume that night, very
few fans dared to leave the stadium. Most people stuck around to continue the spontaneous
celebration until the stadium’s security finally kicked all of us out.
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| GRS Interns with random Kaizer Chiefs fans on the field at Soccer City. |
Unfortunately, in the midst of all of this excitement, a few
of us had a couple things stolen from us while at the stadium. Karl and Xhanti
(one of our friends from Soweto) both had their wallets stolen, and my camera
that I had in my pocket was stolen as well. Despite these unfortunate
incidents, the overall experience that night was incredible.
Although I still haven’t had a chance to make it to a
Pirates game, I think the decision pretty much made itself.
The Final Decision: Kaizer Chiefs it is!
