Dit was lente in die Boland, in ons mees gesuipte ja-a-aar. Daar was Tassenberg in elke glas, al die hormone het baljaar. Stellenbosch was niemandsland.
Those are lyrics to a Koos Kombuis song that most students around the university nogal know well.
Most of the social life in the dorpie centres around the institution and getting gesuip al is eksamens altyd net om die draai is pretty much a way of life.
It’s definitely niemandsland – No Man’s Land.
With most of the lekkertye a thing of the past because of the coronavirus, students and locals are obviously struggling to find ways to blow off steam.
And being one of those carefree souls in my younger days, it nogal made me a little hartseer to see Stellenbosch FC tell their fans to bly by die huis.
Above the Danie Craven Stadium is Coetzenburg, where people from the town and university hike.
The stadium is part of the larger university sports complex where students do practicals in sports science, or teams train and compete.
Some of the biggest names in sport use those facilities. And a hike up Coetzenburg is a good way to warm up/ down the muscles.
It’s a place to catch a view of the town and the surrounding mountains and to get some peace and quiet.
But now it’s also become a place to catch a football match without having to pay for a ticket.
You can see right onto the pitch and the broadcast cameras can catch you sitting on a long watching the game.
And it’s not a good look.
In normal times, this would be a financial problem for the club, but during the pandemic telling fans to go home and not gather on the slopes is the responsible thing to do.
I hope the fans get it and play their part.