SA Athletes Paying The Price of Egos and Free Overseas Trips

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, South Africa had a 20 year old sprinter in the final of the 200m sprint event, lining up alongside the likes of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Christophe Lemaitre, Wallace Spearmon and Warren Weir. He only came in 8^th place that day but, with all things equal, it’s not hard to imagine that young man winning a medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, because of boardroom bungles, Anaso Jobodwana could be in the colours of the USA and not the green and gold South African vest and I would cheer loudly for him!

This past weekend, Athletics South Africa was suspended as a member the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) with immediate effect. It’s all a dirty affair. It is no secret that ASA has not been the best run organisation in recent years. In fact just over 2 months ago, its board incurred its first suspension by ASA owing to financial problems and infighting which led to an attempt by board members to impeach ASA president James Evans, which was later, ruled unconstitutional.

Now depending on what else you might have read on the situation and who you choose to believe you might be inclined to take the side of Sascoc as news came to light over the past few days that ASA is running out of funds, so says Zola Majavu, a well respected advocate who was appointed by ASA as an administrator. He was summarily dismissed after the decision that Sascoc made and has had undisclosed criminal charges lain against him by the ASA president. However ASA still has the support of the IAAF. Gideon Sam has been displeased with the IAAF’s stance and has likened it to Sascoc’s legitimacy as the sports authority in South Africa being denied. In other sections of the media, Sam, along with Sascoc, has been labelled as bully on a power trip. Graeme Joffe, a popular sports journalist formerly with CNN & a fierce critic of Sascoc and its leaders has called this suspension a ploy by Sam to have his cronies elected to the ASA board. So far, for my mind, this smells like a pair of 12 year olds sitting in a hostel dorm room counting who of the two has more pubic hairs. It would be very comical except that this seemingly petty squabble involves adults.

And what of the athletes, the most important entity in this whole equation? Almost no mention has been made of them. Well they, along with the organisation and its board, are suspended too. Sascoc has really gone all out to prove what a mighty force they are by proclaiming that no ASA athletes will be included in future Team South Africa squads for the Commonwealth Youth Games, Commonwealth Games, Anoca Youth Games, All Africa Games, Olympic Youth Games, Olympic Games and the World Student Games in which Jobodwana was due to participate in 9 days’ time. Sascoc has also cut funding and support for ASA athletes who were identified as potential medal hopefuls like Sunette Viljoen and Godfrey Mokoena by Sascoc's Operation Excellence (Opex) programme. Since when did any of our athletes represent ASA and not South Africa?

When athletes have to suffer at the hands of the administrators who are supposed to be protecting their best interests, such as in this case, it becomes clear that sporting matters have been thrown out the window and all that is at stake are egos, expense accounts, free overseas trips and the like. Self interest is at stake and it’s hindering South African athletes quite possibly for many years to come. Our athletes cannot improve or become world beaters with consistently competing in international events or getting funds for costly resources and training. And what is to motivate youngsters to take up track and field seriously when no South African athletes get to compete against the best because of the suits?

If this was an athletics matter, Sascoc would suspend the ASA board and take away their funding but continue to help the athletes. They say the suspension could be over in a couple of months but what damage would have been done by then? What will Jobodwana think of when someone from the US athletics body promises him near unlimited funding, facilities and every resource he needs in order to compete for them? Will he be thinking loyalty or will he be thinking about a great opportunity to become the best in the world? If I saw him at the next Olympics with the letters U-S-A across his chest, I would be happy for him and I wouldn’t find fault with his decision, would you?

-

Mawande Mateza

Follow me on Twitter @Mawandinho

Side note: Anaso Jobodwana completed his second year at Jackson State University in Oxford, Mississippi in May this year. He ran a best time of 20.13 in the 200m this year and placed fourth in the NCAA National Championships. He also ran a best time of 10.10 in the 100m.

South Africans in the NFL

Gary Anderson Trading Card

South African sports fans may not recognize the name Gary Anderson readily but he could possibly be the country's most successful sporting export and certainly the country's finest contributor to American football.

Anderson was born in Parys in the Free State in 1958 and raised in Durban. Upon completing high school, his family moved to the United States. His father, Douglas Anderson was a professional soccer player in England before moving to South Africa. Gary played soccer and cricket at school.

Newly moved to the Pennsylvania in the States, Gary decided on a whim to compare kicking a soccer ball to kicking a football similar to the ones in the NFL, at a nearby school. He was spotted by a local coach who was acquainted to Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil who invited him to try out with the NFL team. Anderson was offered scholarships by 4 colleges whose coaches attended the Eagles' trials. He chose to attend Syracuse University because they agreed to let him play both soccer and football. He scored 19 goals in his first 2 years at Syracuse for their soccer team before devoting himself completely to football.

Mr Automatic in action for the Steelers.

Anderson was noted for his high levels of concentration in the professional game which he attributes to playing cricket as an opening batsman in his school days. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 1983 NFL draft before being cut from the squad which led to him being signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was nicknamed Mr. Automatic at the Steelers owing to his remarkable kicking accuracy. He is noted as a pioneer for accuracy in the NFL. His career success rate for kicks at goal stands at 80.1% which is the second best in NFL history.

Anderson played in the NFL for 23 years, phenomenal considering that the average NFL career spans 3, 5 years. He is one of only 3 men including Morten Andersen and George Blanda to have played in over 300 career games in the NFL. In 2000, he became the highest points scorer in NFL history and his record of 2434 points stood until 2006 when it was broken by Morten Andersen.

Gary and his wife, Kay, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Anderson spent 13 years at the Steelers before playing for 4 other teams in his career including the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. Amongst his long list of achievements is the perfect season he achieved with the Vikings in 1998 where he was successful with all 94 of his kicks in the regular season, a major contributor to the Vikings' record of 15 wins and only one loss in the regular season that year.

Anderson was named in the NFL Team of the Decade for the 1980s and 1990s and in 1983 was named as the Steelers Most Valuable Player for the season which is almost unheard of for a kicker. He has one of the highest accolades that can be bestowed to a player in any sport in that the number 1 jersey that he wore for the Steelers has been retired in his honour.

Anderson's career is the stuff of legends. He was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame which in itself is huge considering that only 1 kicker in the history of the NFL has been inducted in the hall of fame. Anderson retired from football in 2004. He maintains ties with his homeland; he was in the country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and still maintains a heavy South African accent.

Two other South Africans have played in the NFL. There is the story that goes around that legendary Springbok flyhalf Naas Botha played in the NFL. He was invited by the Dallas Cowboys to try out for their team as a kicker. He played in a couple of exhibition games for the franchise dubbed America's Favourite Team but in the main he was unsuccessful in his trial and was not signed on by the Cowboys and spent the majority of his time in the US playing rugby for the Dallas Harlequins which he led to the 1984 USA National Club Championship.

Jerome Pathon at the New Orleans Saints

Cape Town born Jerome Pathon played wide receiver in 99 NFL games and scored 15 touch downs in his career spanning 8 years with 3 teams the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Most notably, he was drafted by the Colts in 1998 along with Peyton Manning. He last played in the NFL in 2005 and is currently a coach at the University of South Florida.

Linebacker Ezra Butler had a less spectacular career in the NFL. He was signed by the Saints in 2011 after unsuccessful stints on the practice squads of the 49ers and the New York Jets. However he did win two championships with the Las Vegas Locomotives who play in the minor United Football League.

- Mawande Mateza
follow on twitter @Mawandinho

Many thanks to Ben Morgan

Len Tau & Jan Mashiani: SA Sporting History's Forgotten Men

The names of Len Tau and Jan Mashiani ought to be familiar with most South Africans; after all they were a part of the country’s 1^st ever representatives at Olympic Games when they participated at the 3^rd Olympiad in St Louis in 1904 and indeed were the continent’s first black athletes to compete at the Games. However their story is not celebrated; no facilities, awards or scholarships are named in their honour and most of what you would find on the net and what you would read about them is a little obscure. 

Background

In 1904, the city of St Louis in the United States hosted the World’s Fair, a celebration of all the different peoples of the globe. Tau and Mashiani were in St Louis as labourers of General Piet Cronje who held a Boer exhibit and a stage play at the Fair. Due to this event’s popularity, interest in the Olympics fell by the way side and only athletes from 13 countries competed n the Games. To avoid disaster and meager attendance, organizers of the Olympics opened up the event and invited everybody to participate which is how Tau and Mashiani were allowed to compete. 

Marathon

Len Tau (left) and Jan Mashiani (right)

Tau and Mashiani competed in the marathon event and finished 9^th and 13^th respectively on a scorching hot day in St Louis were half of the runners didn’t complete the race.  Records say it was a comical race; the race was won by Thomas Hicks of America in the slowest time ever recorded for the marathon at the Olympic, a record that still stands today. Hicks was fed egg whites and brandy during the race to keep his energy levels and stamina up and it widely told that Tau would have finished the race in a quicker time and finished higher placed had he not been chased by a dog which forced him to stray off the curse for several miles.  

Legacy

Tau who is recorded in some history books as Lentauw, Len Taw or Len Taunyane and Mashiani who is also referred to as Yamasian didn’t return to the country triumphantly or to any sort of rousing welcome as is the norm with our athletes and sports teams today. I was a little saddened to see that most the records and re-tellings of this almost unlikely story are from overseas stories. It seems as though history has tucked away the story these two men and in a land where we celebrate the modern heroes  legends of folklore are forgotten.

A Little Less Hype Please.

Serfontein: Highly Talented

Young centre Jan Serfontein is undoubtedly a very talented rugby player. Last year, he won the IRB's Junior Player of the Year after starring in the South Africa under 20 team that won the IRB Junior World Championship.

Prior to the start of this year's Super Rugby tournament, his potential is being talked up and some have gone as far as naming him the brightest talent in the centre position that SA has had since Danie Gerber, the great Springbok centre of the 1980s and early 1990s. That's a pretty big rap to give someone so young and also considering that over the last 10 or so years SA has had centres like Robbie Fleck, Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie.

I reckon we have to be careful in South Africa about hyping up our young players. Serfontein is still only 19 and will in all probability turn out for the Baby Boks again this year. We've also got to remember that he has minimal Currie Cup experience and hasn't got a Super Rugby game under his belt yet. Now, I am all for young talent and firmly believe in the mantra that goes "if he's good enough, he's old enough"; but we have to be responsible with our expectations. It is one thing to say a guy has talent but totally another to compare him to the greats in the infancy of his career.

We have the benefit of hindsight to point at instances of youngsters we expected so much from but didn't fulfill their potential in our eyes. In 2002, Derick Hougaard scored a record 26 points in the Blue Bulls' Currie Cup triumph that year and soon after was compared to Naas Botha. He debuted for the Boks in the 2003 Rugby World Cup against Uruguay and went on to play 7 more games in the green and gold. I would think that he is proud to have represented his country in those 8 games but at the same time i do think he would have liked to played in more games for the Boks and many of the rugby public think he could have as well. Victor Mpitsang holds the distinction of being the youngest ever South African to play in a One Day International game for the Proteas at age 18. He was compared to a young Makhaya Ntini and some said he was in fact a better prospect than theMdingi Express. He may have had the world at his feet back then, but since his debut he only played in 1 more ODI game for the Proteas. Ntini played in 101 Tests and 173 ODIs.

I don't dispute his talent and Serfontein may well prove that the hype was justified one day.
We have to manage our expectations.  I don't think it is necessary to point fingers, name names and compare youngsters to the greats. I don’t think it is helpful to the athletes we compare and it doesn’t really achieve anything other than to give us something to talk about at braais, at the pub or on social networks. There's time enough for things like that when careers have been forged and when they've built their own names.

6 South African Young Guns WIth a Big 2013 Ahead

1. Wandile Mjekevu.

Remember in early 2010 when a young, 19 year old Lions winger burst onto the scene and scored a hat trick of tries against the Chiefs in one of his first Super Rugby games? Well, that young winger is now 21 and he will turn up in the colours of the Sharks this year. Mjekevu is a seriously talented lad who perhaps many, me included, thought would be the brightest young player in SA by now. Things haven't turned out quite as we expected and some troubles with the suits at the Lions have led him to the sign with the Sharks. The fact that Mjekevu can produce not only at age-group level but also when brushing shoulders with the big boys is not in dispute but this is the year that he has to show that he can do it consistently and that he is not just another story of a precociously talented age group star.

2. Aya Gqamane

What are the chances that a dusty, rural village in the Eastern Cape could produce two national cricket sensations? It might seem like a case of lightning striking in the same place twice, but surely the chances of Mdingi village, famed for producing Makhaya Ntini, of producing such talent would be just on par with any other, right? Well, the village hasn't quite produced 2 international cricketers just yet but if its latest prodigy continues to perform as exceptionally as in his breakthrough season for the Warriors, he will be Mdingi's second Protea sooner rather than later.

You're probably not used to hearing the phrase "diminutive fast bowler", but you will pretty soon. But 23 year old Gqamane is a lot more than that. Along with taking 22 wickets in his 3 matches in the Sunfoil Series, he has also scored 107 runs. With Gary Kirsten and Proteas management seemingly keen on giving young talent a chance, don't be surprised to see Gqamane in the green and gold. Either way, expect a big 2013 from him.

3. Cobus Reinach

No flash. Quietly impressive. Does the business, gets the job done. That's really all that needs to be said of the Sharks scrumhalf who had a breakout season in the Currie Cup last year. I reckon Reinach's role in the Sharks side throughout their charge to the Currie Cup final was largely underrated maybe owing to the number of stars playing for the Durban outfit but certainly he was one of the most efficient and industrious players. If he has a Super Rugby campaign anywhere near as good as his 2012 Currie Cup, he will be one THE players to watch in 2013, I think he will do big things and achieve higher honours.

4. Elton Jantjies

I don't know about you, but I have been dying to see young Elton playing regularly behind a strong pack of forwards with excellent service from the halfback on his inside and a quality no.12 on his outside and this year I'm gonna get just that when Jantjies turns out in the colours of the Stormers in the Super Rugby tournament. I thought he was pretty good playing for the Lions but I think with the quality of Stormers players all around him, he will get better. First he will have to slug it out with Peter Grant for a starting position but he'll be better for it and he needs a strong season with the Cape Town outfit to enter into the reckoning for a regular spot in the Springbok line up.

5. Quinton de Kock

The 20 year old Joburger has had quite the summer so far. He has been anointed as Mark Boucher's long term successor as the Proteas glove man. That he is talent is not at question, but a few cricket writers have suggested that he is not yet ready for international cricket. He is highly rated and the hype around means more people will be critical of him. De Kock has to perform out of his skin to justify his place in the Proteas' line up going and he has the extra weight of having to be the face of the decision to exclude Thami Tsolekile from the Proteas' reckoning. 2013 will be a great test of character for young de Kock.

6. Rudi Second

While de Kock faces his examination in the public eye, another young wicketkeeper/batsman has his head down and going about his work quietly but efficiently. Second welcomed 2013 with a double century for the Knights against the Titans. South Africa should be excited that they have a keeper in the making that can occupy the crease like Second and score big runs when needed.  Rudi Second may not have the media hype around him but that does not diminish his talent and it might suit him not to be the boy wonder everyone expects so much from. Expect Rudi Second to breathe down the neck of de Kock this year and enter into conversations about the best young keeper in SA before long.