Sign up with GoogleForget Bakkies. Instead, look a little closer to home... to the South African supporter, writes Ian Williams.
What is it with some local sports fans? It appears many are stuck in a time-warp, and the fading embers of the laager mentality, so prevalent in the 1980s, can still be seen in a segment of the South African fan-base which believes the rules don't apply to us - we're allowed to lash out, and we'll simply defend our position by citing our counterparts' transgressions.
Justifying the unjustifiable, apportioning blame, and taking cheap shots at the opposition have become standard practice in sport, and in the past weeks we have seen incidents where players have lost the plot and - even worse - coaches, management and sadly, fans, have leapt to their defence.
Schalk Burger shamed South Africans with his "eye-gouging incident" in the second Test match against the Lions at Loftus last week and was rightly slammed by the rugby-loving public and duly punished by the custodians of the game. But, perhaps, Burger is not the only one whose actions should be examined.
Forget Bakkies. Instead, look a little closer to home... to the South African supporter.
We love to see our sides do well, of course, but occasionally the win-at-all-costs attitude displayed by some "supporters" is a real turn-off.
Crammed into a city pub to watch the epic encounter unfolding at Loftus, my - and no doubt others' - enjoyment of the thrilling spectacle was severely curtailed by a female supporter whose non-stop screeching literally bordered on hate speech.
With a voice like a rasp, and possessing the vocabulary of a drunken sailor, the fan took centre stage in front of a packed house of Bok and Lions supporters.
Every - and I mean every - time she opened her mouth, there was such an outpouring of filth, vitriol and anger that it was an embarrassment to anybody within earshot. Every bit of action on the field was met with a rant - much of its venom was directed at the Lions players, but there were also many demands for the Boks to perpetrate mindless violence on their opponents. Disturbingly, every other word began with an "f" or a "p".
When Gethin Jenkins was helped off, after suffering a fractured cheekbone, his injury was met with "Go back to your mummy!" Except she didn't say "go", but used two words, the second being "off".
Charming.
Admittedly French referee Christophe Berdos didn't have the greatest of matches, but to suddenly and publicly characterise the Loftus ref as a sex criminal went way beyond the bounds of reasonable behaviour.
In contrast, the red-clad members of the audience were diplomatic.
"Bit of a thug, isn't he?" they said of Burger. "Not having a very good game," they said of the ref.
And, to a man (and woman), they showed something not all of our local fans could - a knowledge of the laws of the game.
Admittedly, the visitors were all rugby supporters, including many ex-players, so their knowledge of rugby should be better than your average fan, but still: what is the point of hurling abuse when you have little or no understanding of rugby laws.
In fact, I sat entranced as an elderly Welshman patiently explained to a local rugby supporter why one of the Lions players had been penalised. The Bok fan was amazed - here was "the enemy" admitting a mistake, pointing out the offence and its deserved punishment, and even admitting the player had a history of the same offence!
And that was what really exposes the hate-mongers for what they are - ignoramuses when it comes to the laws, but whose loathing for any opponent blinds them to the reality, and ruins everyone else's enjoyment of what is otherwise a magnificent spectacle.
She is not the first and this behaviour is not limited only to rugby - remember the so-called local fan who abused Australian cricketer Merv Hughes in a Wanderers Test some years ago?
And this thuggish behaviour is also not limited to South Africans. English football hooligans are infamous and some of their European counterparts are not far behind. Sections of the Australian cricketing public have also garnered bad press in recent years. But this is no justification.
And it's also no good to say that it is only a small section of South African fans who tarnish our country's good name.
The "it wasn't me" syndrome doesn't wash as the image that is portrayed to outsiders doesn't distinguish between the true fan and the lout... in fact, it is the behaviour of the latter that will inevitably and indelibly linger in the mind.
We, fans, are all custodians of sport and it is incumbent upon us to strive to root out any and all behaviour which sends out a message that South African fans are boorish and ill-mannered.
Let's play the ball and not the man.
http://www.capeargus.co.za/?fSectionId=3571&fArticleId=5069557&ap=1
hear hear..
What is it with some local sports fans? It appears many are stuck in a time-warp, and the fading embers of the laager mentality, so prevalent in the 1980s, can still be seen in a segment of the South African fan-base which believes the rules don't apply to us - we're allowed to lash out, and we'll simply defend our position by citing our counterparts' transgressions.
Justifying the unjustifiable, apportioning blame, and taking cheap shots at the opposition have become standard practice in sport, and in the past weeks we have seen incidents where players have lost the plot and - even worse - coaches, management and sadly, fans, have leapt to their defence.
Schalk Burger shamed South Africans with his "eye-gouging incident" in the second Test match against the Lions at Loftus last week and was rightly slammed by the rugby-loving public and duly punished by the custodians of the game. But, perhaps, Burger is not the only one whose actions should be examined.
Forget Bakkies. Instead, look a little closer to home... to the South African supporter.
We love to see our sides do well, of course, but occasionally the win-at-all-costs attitude displayed by some "supporters" is a real turn-off.
Crammed into a city pub to watch the epic encounter unfolding at Loftus, my - and no doubt others' - enjoyment of the thrilling spectacle was severely curtailed by a female supporter whose non-stop screeching literally bordered on hate speech.
With a voice like a rasp, and possessing the vocabulary of a drunken sailor, the fan took centre stage in front of a packed house of Bok and Lions supporters.
Every - and I mean every - time she opened her mouth, there was such an outpouring of filth, vitriol and anger that it was an embarrassment to anybody within earshot. Every bit of action on the field was met with a rant - much of its venom was directed at the Lions players, but there were also many demands for the Boks to perpetrate mindless violence on their opponents. Disturbingly, every other word began with an "f" or a "p".
When Gethin Jenkins was helped off, after suffering a fractured cheekbone, his injury was met with "Go back to your mummy!" Except she didn't say "go", but used two words, the second being "off".
Charming.
Admittedly French referee Christophe Berdos didn't have the greatest of matches, but to suddenly and publicly characterise the Loftus ref as a sex criminal went way beyond the bounds of reasonable behaviour.
In contrast, the red-clad members of the audience were diplomatic.
"Bit of a thug, isn't he?" they said of Burger. "Not having a very good game," they said of the ref.
And, to a man (and woman), they showed something not all of our local fans could - a knowledge of the laws of the game.
Admittedly, the visitors were all rugby supporters, including many ex-players, so their knowledge of rugby should be better than your average fan, but still: what is the point of hurling abuse when you have little or no understanding of rugby laws.
In fact, I sat entranced as an elderly Welshman patiently explained to a local rugby supporter why one of the Lions players had been penalised. The Bok fan was amazed - here was "the enemy" admitting a mistake, pointing out the offence and its deserved punishment, and even admitting the player had a history of the same offence!
And that was what really exposes the hate-mongers for what they are - ignoramuses when it comes to the laws, but whose loathing for any opponent blinds them to the reality, and ruins everyone else's enjoyment of what is otherwise a magnificent spectacle.
She is not the first and this behaviour is not limited only to rugby - remember the so-called local fan who abused Australian cricketer Merv Hughes in a Wanderers Test some years ago?
And this thuggish behaviour is also not limited to South Africans. English football hooligans are infamous and some of their European counterparts are not far behind. Sections of the Australian cricketing public have also garnered bad press in recent years. But this is no justification.
And it's also no good to say that it is only a small section of South African fans who tarnish our country's good name.
The "it wasn't me" syndrome doesn't wash as the image that is portrayed to outsiders doesn't distinguish between the true fan and the lout... in fact, it is the behaviour of the latter that will inevitably and indelibly linger in the mind.
We, fans, are all custodians of sport and it is incumbent upon us to strive to root out any and all behaviour which sends out a message that South African fans are boorish and ill-mannered.
Let's play the ball and not the man.
http://www.capeargus.co.za/?fSectionId=3571&fArticleId=5069557&ap=1
hear hear..
