Some people, the majority watch sport, albeit for their team to win. This is normal and goes with the flow.
The minority enjoys the sport for what it is. In other words they enjoy the game as a game and let the better side or man win…this is sportsmanship and sometimes a humbling experience.
Rather a national thing and this is normal with win or by crook that inflates the pride and ego of the nation I tend to go against this.
Letting your better man win nobly is not weakness or retiring, provided you have done your best and given it your all.
For this reason I appreciate a win by my supported or related side…to me this is a bonus and it keeps competition alive but it must be honestly discerned, attitudes of blaming fields, referees and unforeseen conditions are folly and are just obstacles in the game of life, in sport in this context or any other in the struggle to achieve in life.
I love rugby because it has a sentiment that was ingrained in me as a youth and I was indeed privileged in going to a rugby school of note. I was never any player of note but I had a couple of school buddies that made it to the highest platform of SA rugby. They were all nice guys, balanced in personality and were very humble despite their youth and one of them made a Springbok.
So what does this matter? There were a few that came after
me that became famous…the school was known as the fly half factory…pity DC
never went there although he didn’t participate in RWC 2011 but Joel and Butch
did in previous well known endeavours. Joel, even had the famous actor and director's son of Clint Eastwood playing his role...in Invictus a rather poor performance by Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman...a political propaganda...missing the main point and sickly patrionising a weak political point with a pathetic display of rugby, the film I suspect was funded by ANC.
Butch’s dad went to the same school but never played rugby…he was ostracised there because he played soccer outside the school…in fact a damn good goalkeeper for Maritzburg United.
Sport is not a religion, just a bloody good thing to do. All good sportsmen are not idols but very much the same as you and me.
Watch rugby for the enjoyment and skill and let the result take care of itself…it is not war.
Some of the biggest powers in the world like USA and Russia don’t even feature with a threat in rugby, just remember that….pity us if they did and it is my wish that rugby administration in IRB would spend rugby in promoting rugby in these areas, let alone in deserving nations of Georgia, Romania, Canada, Spain, Portugal, Chile and many others…this a huge contention but money rules in this world and even altruistic rugby lovers cannot overcome this.
Anyway just a difference in reasons why I enjoy rugby.
