Lucky Sithole
The pandemic, as the Health Department is quick to remind us, is not over yet. The gates of sports stadiums have not yet been flung open.
This weekend, the Soweto Derby could only be enjoyed at the local shebeen where they could have a drink and cheer on their teams, and celebrate or commiserate depending on the allegiance.
At local rugby matches over the weekend, the small numbers of people who are allowed into the stadiums seem somehow pathetic as they bravely cheer on their teams.
But today, test tickets go on sale.
It may simply be a leap of faith, or it may be a flight of fantasy, but once again, tickets can be purchased to go to the stadiums and watch test matches when the Springboks take on Wales in July in a three match test series.
By 7am Monday morning there were still some tickets available for the first match against Wales. But you better hurry.
Test 1. 2 July, Springboks versus Wales. Loftus Versed capacity: 51,762. Tickets available: 15.
Test 2. 9 July, Springboks versus Wales. Free State Stadium capacity: 36,538. Tickets available: four.
Test 3. 16 July, Springboks versus Wales. Cape Town Stadium capacity: 55,000. Tickets available: eight.
These days the “rush” for tickets is virtual. The ticket sales open with fans sitting with their fingers hovering over their keyboards as they race to click on the TICKETS button first.
In the days before computers, newspapers carried grainy photographs of men, often accompanied by their young sons, huddled in blankets against the winter cold. Often a little fire would cast a dull glow over smiling faces as the people queued through the night at the gates of rugby stadiums waiting for ticket offices to open.
Can you hear the roar of 50,000 fans as the Springboks run out onto the pitch? Somewhat different to the feeble cheers of a handful of officials and fans scattered around immense stadiums, isn’t it?
For many sports fans, and especially rugby fans, and this reporter, this represents the beginning of the end of a long and ugly pandemic.
Image source: @TimesLIVE
