Rallying behind the flag: The binding power of sports
Lewanika Timothy | Saturday August 17, 2024 06:00
The sands of time will forever bear our bigfoot as the small nation that brought the 200m Olympic crown to African soil. This victory reminds us what it means to conquer the insurmountable, the mundane, and the impossible. Thanks to sports, we feel united once again, riding the wings of this victory and like the Invictus poem, we boldly profess that the menace of the years shall find us unbowed, writes Mmegi Staffer TIMOTHY LEWANIKA (BLURB)
This week, Botswana stole the limelight, grabbing the world’s attention when its countrymen and women stormed the streets, displaying unwavering patriotism. Now it is not just diamonds and beef that will showcase Botswana’s value; it is our athletes and their ability to show grit when the opportunity was presented. The image of men and women, boys and girls dressed in sky blue—mirroring the vastness of the firmament above—alongside shades of white and black that symbolise solidarity that trumps all differences, was awe-inspiring and nostalgic.
This is the heritage envisioned by patriarchs like former president, Sir Seretse Khama, when they demanded political freedom from the colonial masters. While it may seem like an exuberant celebration to some, for Batswana it is not just about the two medals the athletes brought home. It is about a culture of celebrating small wins, believing they will enchant spill over effects to all else. It is about the belief that we chanted 'Pula' and our sport stars caught ya masubelele and brought victory home. Is it not how we dance and celebrate small harvests at the kgotla during traditional ceremonies like dikgafela? Well, this is our dikgafela moment. It is also why we celebrate.
The stellar performance from our sportsmen and women could not have come at a better time. Providence knew that the nation is basking in the heat of economic woes and political divergence that seeks to break the spirit of a nation once strong and united. But lo and behold, last week, light appeared at the end of the tunnel; first with Letsile 'Schoolboy' Tebogo's breathtaking podium finish past elite sportsmen from the world’s best and most revered nations; and second, a brilliant relay team performance that brought home a silver medal. What was even more humbling was the support Africa rendered Botswana during the 200m race. Social media flooded with videos of allies from Ghana and sons and daughters of the soil from all over Africa, cheering our very own Schoolboy, who bore the aspirations of not only his country but the continent.
This victory alongside that of the relay team are symbolic for the nation, that we too deserve our place in the pages of history. What would we have done without the maverick power of sports? Its history can be backdated to ancient Greece. The world's first sports often involved the preparation for war or training as a hunter, which explains why so many early games involved the throwing of spears, stakes, and rocks, and sparring one-on-one with opponents. It was at the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE—with events such as foot and chariot races, wrestling, jumping, and discus and javelin throwing—that the Greeks introduced formal sports to the world. Different sporting codes have since morphed to be emblems of great national unity, as was the case in South Africa in the year of 1996. When Nelson Mandela was freed from Robbin Island, he was handed the mandate to rebuild a broken, Apartheid-weary South Africa.
Mandela deployed what he called the power of sports to help unite his people. The 1995 Rugby World Cup, was a re-defining moment for South Africa. Lew Geffen in his memoir recounts that one of the most spiritual moments of his life was when Mandela handed the trophy to Jacobus Francois Pienaar; he (Mandela) a black man next to a white man (Pienaar), standing in national unity because of the power of sports. “When Mandela appeared on the field in his green and gold jersey and cap to present the trophy to Pienaar and the Boks, it was euphoric mayhem. It was the most emotional scene I had ever witnessed in my life. We all walked out of the stadium on a total high. I will never forget that day,” he said. The 1996 African Cup of Nations, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, and the 2010 FIFA World Cup were all played on South African soil.
Those events forged and framed a philosophy that by playing together and cheering together, people could realise that the notion of dividing men, women and children according to the colour of their skin was as nonsensical as it was disgusting. Mandela, giving his recount of how sport was part of building the rainbow nation said: “Sport, has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.” He used that speech a number of times, honed and developed it to later include an overt reference to the breaking down of racial barriers and of all forms of discrimination. It was, of course, spoken with a lawyer’s mind and a politician’s sense of opportunism.
This week, Botswana experienced this unifying power, making the nation briefly forget that unemployment is the reality of over 287, 000 Batswana. Two medals, making the nation forget that the Government Investment Account (GIA) has been eroded by over P14 billion in just nine months. That is not magic—it is the latent power of sports.