No, the pessimists are not correct – South Africa is not rubbish at sport. But, as this weekend proved, sometimes we’re legends in our own imagination.
At least we can say this past sporting weekend proved the old saying – that bad things happen in threes – is spot-on.
The glum faces of Springbok fans at Ellis Park on Saturday summed up the feelings of many.
Fair enough, the last comeback like the Wallabies pulled off in the second half involved a man called Lazarus… but the Boks were, to quote coach Rassie Erasmus, “dog shit” in the last 40 minutes.
The Proteas were better, taking the Aussies to the penultimate ball before losing the last of the threematch T20 series.
Sadly, Dricus du Plessis also lost his Ultimate Fighting Championship bout against Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates after being outwrestled.
No, the pessimists are not correct – South Africa is not rubbish at sport. But, as this weekend proved, sometimes we’re legends in our own imagination.
We needed a reality check after months of top performances from many national teams and individual athletes and swimmers.
Ironically, the media planners for Castle Lager must have had a premonition about the weekend.
Over the past few weeks, they’ve been running an ad which speaks of true fans being the ones who stand by you, even when you lose. Something to think about.
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