The Good Sport

Americans are getting fatter, I read yesterday, but thats old news. Every year someone does a study that measures the average American girth. If we had to wait for the fat lady to sing before it was over, I'd say she's got the pipes for the final curtain call and the waiting is up. Its not all bad for Americas fattest fatties though, the rest of the world is getting fatter, right along with "Lady Liberaly." I guess the Aussies and even South Africans figure they're ok as long as the Americans are still carrying the bulk of the weight.

A few things got me thinking about the ever illusive "sports tourism." Strange, I've never travelled anywhere for sport, so to speak. But when I did a mental inventory about my travels, it surprised me that the most memorable activities absolutely involved the commitment of my body. I think they call that excercise...

So it got me thinking...well a combination of a torturous spin class, watching the Lions and Boks last Saturday got me thinking. Firstly, I couldn't believe how many red jerseys were in the stands in suppoort of the Lions last Saturday. It looked like tens of thousands supporters took themselves on an internatinal holiday to support their rugby team. I suppose it was surprising because I've never had the urge to travel anywhere because of sporting events but what do you know, it happens.

So I thought I'd take a little peak into South African sports tourism. if you think about it, we're pretty sporty (and by "sporty" I include sedentary lifestyle shapeshifters who watch a lot of sport). We run marathons, play cricket, rugby, soccer, we swim, play golf, dance, play netball, hockey, volleyball...the list goes on. We have so many balls in South Africa, its no wonder we're so competitive.

Its definately added a new dimension to our already successful tourism industry. along with shopping (which should actually be a sport), eco, luxury, safari, sightseeing and all the other travel options we have available, we can now create an itinery thats sure to stretch even tighest joke strap.

And consider it an open invitation to the Americans! Welcome to the Land of free thinkers and brave attempts, sports wise anyway. Come and join us on an adventure and hopefully, catch a glimpse of what it feels like to run under the African sun.

Send them cycling, white water rafting, road racing, hiking, golfing, its like an Iron Man race that just never ends. So I'd say its time to get physical. See South Africa from an athletes point of view. A great way to record your sports holiday is with your cell phone. If you're GPS enabled, than log onto www.hummba.com and download the FOOTPRINTS application, you can track your entire race/trip/hike and show to your friends from around the world. All you do is upload all your photos and they'll appear exactly where you took them on your profile. So now you can't cheat.

Go on, log on to hummba.com...I'll race you...