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...

For Sports Sake...

Do you know what all South Africans have in common? I can't imagine anyone would because we're always celebrating our differences and not our sameness. But really, now, think about it...what makes South Africans a nation and not a country, a people and not a race, gender, creed or sexual orientation? Sport.

Are you disappointed? Were you hoping for the formulae to happily ever after? Not on this blog. I've never considered myself sporty but I think I might have to revisit my decision. Watching the Boks vs Lions game on Saturday I was transported to the wild, where the lines between hunters and the hunted are blurred. It was pure exhilaration, tension, drama and of course testosterone. I tell ya, there were some very happy South Africans in the stadiums and in the pub.

But here's what gets me, after a "difficult" but winning match against the British and Irish Lions its no surprise that despite your thoughts on how the game was played, if you were South African, you would have been glad we won. On the other side of the coin, Bafana Bafana narrowly missed history in a remarkable game against Spain, the top ranked team in the world. The suspense was palpable as the game went into extra time. Playing against the giants, the boys faced them head on and impressed the country.

Sure, they didn't win but I don't think there were many South Africans who didn't take a double take at our soccer team. I certainly sat up for a second and thought, "Man, that's cool." And it was.

So to Bafana and the Boks, well done. Bask in the glory, you deserve it. And to all the backslidden sports fans out there, if that doesn't want to make you paint a South African flag on your cheek than nothing will.