The Boks vs. The All Blacks

(Pictures for this are under the album link)

Having friends is great. We have done things like attend the South Africa vs. New Zealand rugby game! OK, not in person, but almost as cool - we were in a raucous pub drinking pints. About 60 South Africans and New Zealanders descended upon "Scrooges" pub for one of the biggest matches of the year. Walking into the pub I heard chanting in Afrikaans (one of the 11 offical languages of South Africa). The South Africans were dressed in the national colors that included yellow, green, red, and white. This is not a big pub and the 60 only included those friends of friends that we knew. There were a good 100+ people in this small HOT pub. I know very little about the sport, but one thing I did learn was that South Africans and Kiwis LOVE their rugby. To give you an idea of how important rugby is to a Kiwi I witnessed an argument start between an Irishman and a Kiwi (two of our friends) that ended up in raised voices, shouts of nationalist propaganda, finger pointing, accusations of cheating, lies, scandal and other illict behavior that no doubt disgraced the losing team. Eventually, the discussion dovetailed into an argument about nationalism.

Back to the game. Their team was the definite underdog as The Boks (South Africa) had not defeated The All Blacks (New Zealand) in New Zealand in over 10 years. The All Blacks are like the Yankees of the rugby world, but I would wager they are even more dominating. I was told that they have ruled rugby for years with their massive size and skill, but I found, ironically, that South Africa was the reigning World Champion. After ordering a round of beers for our table we sat and prepared for the game, which meant Mindy and I had to learn something about what we were going to watch. We had shown up two hours early in order to get a seat and people continually poured as the time passed. We sat there with our friend Pieter, from SA, and learned what little we could about the game and the rivalry. As the pub became more and more packed I realized something, "It is going to be hot in here". Luckily, Mindy is always prepared and she packed our personal fans to keep us cool.

The game started with a roar from both sides, thought New Zealand was poorly represented in the crowd. We spent the game bothering Pieter with questions about rules and calls. He was very gracious. As we continued to put back the beers the pub became even hotter and I realized that both Kiwis and Boks were happy to use our little fans to keep cool in the heat. In essence, the fans became fans of our fans. In an attempt to bridge build between cultures I offered my fan without discrimination towards nationality. In the middle of one especially tense moment on the field, people were screaming as the Boks raced towards the uprights, the power went completely out. The fans stopped, the lights went out, and, most unfortunately, the air conditioning stopped. This happened at least 8 times, for extended periods for the entire match. After the second outtage the air conditioning was out for good. Apparently the system was overloaded because of all the people. The match was not just a sporting event. It was an event. Even when the power went out and the airconditioning stopped the crowd was just as boisterous. What we got to see of the game was fantastic eventhough our adopted team, The Boks, lost by a score of 16-8.

South Korea has been an incredible experience. It is interspersed with moments frustration, but it is always, like the time above, full of surprises.

~Scott