Oh what a lovely country we have, bafethu.
We are a colourful nation of people from different backgrounds and speak different languages.
It’s bursting with flavours from different cultures.
While the majority call is for all to embrace the fact that we are all different, that has its fair share of challenges when you confront this diversity.
This got me thinking about how diversity might have actually become the stumbling block for the South African national teams.
Are we ready to talk about whether the diversity of cultures and beliefs within the SA national teams?
I noted a post on social media doing the rounds of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi singing igwijo alone in the tunnel before a Test match.
This was all part of promotion to introduce amagwijo(songs) to back the Boks.
THIS. MOMENT. WAS. MAGICAL!
After the match, Siya Kolisi and some of Boks, came to support us and while there we figured that he was requesting a particular gwijo. 😉🙌🏽
So we gave him what he wanted! 🤗 #GwijoAtTheRugby
MAGICAL! pic.twitter.com/vDYsKSOw33
— Gwijo Squad (@GwijoSquad) July 21, 2019
It was very interesting that the rest of the Springbok team did not sing along or even clap and he was not singing it out as loud as maybe the New Zealanders would do the haka.
Bafana Bafana did the same, but it was the majority who were singing with Dean Furman and Darren Keet laughing during what has been a "routine" pre-match igwijo for Bafana Bafana and many teams in local football.
So I was left wondering whether it is OK to have one culture more dominant than others and whether it is okay that the rest of the squad temporarily adopts that culture when with the national squad?
I was curious where else within the team dynamic there may be challenges of having everyone in the same boat and not having the two or three casually getting by.
I mean if you can sing the national anthem, you should be able to sing any song whatever language it is, right?
I have to admit that it was down to a lack of trying by Furman and Keet as the majority was in full song and in the zone.
As the SA democracy matures, we’re also confronting diversity head-on within our society and the identity debate that has been bubbling under is exploding.
Back in 1996, as Bafana won Afcon, we truly had a team that represented what South Africa was on the surface.
Black, coloured and white; it was all there in that squad and they didn’t have to try hard to have that mix.
What was even better was that, unlike rugby where for a long time it seemed the wing positions were reserved for non-white players, the Bafana team was totally mixed with every race represented in all positions.
IT'S ALL KICKING OFF: Bafana Bafana get the team spirit going. Photo: Supplied.
The coach back then, Clive Barker, also used the majority of his squad throughout the tournament and each match had a different hero as a result.
That was OK, maybe it also helped that there was no social media because there was no noise amplified about who should or shouldn’t play.
Does the diversity in the current team not lead to a push and pull between players and coaches as they all have their own personal ambitions?
If the fans are this disgruntled about their favourite player not playing, how might the players be feeling when they have to sit on the bench for a player from a different background?
If people talk about it all the time, Furman doesn’t have the “Mzansi flair”, makes you wonder what his teammates think when they have to sit on the bench for a player that supposedly lacks all these skills.
The line between embracing diversity and being racist get blurred pretty quickly hey?
Are we ready to talk about our diversity and its pros and cons?