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Post by chrisb on Apr 25, 2018 4:46:36 GMT
Hi Jim, that is really cool, I watched Scotland play Samoa last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself, but sadly i was driving - one day Jim, one day....for the sake of a poor pass....
I also follow football, but for a long time I have despaired with Scotland but I also support Liverpool, who I am now on tenderhooks for a week after last night, but my other great passion will always be cricket and I see at least a couple of games per year, but being of mixed heritage [Scottish, English and German] I support England at cricket but love nothing better than watching Scotland beat them at Rugby,
I do find it interesting that football hasn't seemed to have taken off in South Africa, New Zealand I can understand, why would you when you have that incredible rugby set-up? but SA puzzles me
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Post by mikael on Apr 25, 2018 5:31:59 GMT
Jim, very interesting to read about New Zealand.
I wonder if the general interest in motor sport has been strong also during years when New Zealanders had limited international success?
I’m a Dane who has spent about 20 years in Japan, so our situations may be similar in a way. Denmark has experienced a boom in the general interest in motor sport in recent years, thanks to the internal success of drivers like Jan Magnussen, Tom Kristensen, Jason Watt (a good Danish name, right 😊 He has a British father), and lately Jan’s son, Kevin Magnussen. But it really took this international break-through to get television and the general public interested. Before the mid-90s, the interest was very low – so low that “environmentalists” in the late 60's succeeded in getting Roskilde Ring (a one-time Grand Prix circuit, near Copenhagen) closed down and turned into a park!
In Japan the general interest in motorsport is surprisingly low. Probably a Japanese F1-superstar could change the situation - the involvement of the manufacturers is not enough. (I think that most people are not aware at all of the long-time success of the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers.) Interestingly, in Senna’s prime he became a kind of an “adopted son” of Japan, and a household name (so I was told - it was just before my own time here). But now, the general interest is at low ebb.
Best regards
Mikael
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Post by robmarsh on Apr 25, 2018 15:00:34 GMT
Hi Jim, that is really cool, I watched Scotland play Samoa last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself, but sadly i was driving - one day Jim, one day....for the sake of a poor pass.... I also follow football, but for a long time I have despaired with Scotland but I also support Liverpool, who I am now on tenderhooks for a week after last night, but my other great passion will always be cricket and I see at least a couple of games per year, but being of mixed heritage [Scottish, English and German] I support England at cricket but love nothing better than watching Scotland beat them at Rugby, I do find it interesting that football hasn't seemed to have taken off in South Africa, New Zealand I can understand, why would you when you have that incredible rugby set-up? but SA puzzles me Hi Chris Football is very big in South Africa with at least two channels on the cable TV solely dedicated to European and English Football. Previously football and rugby were split on racial grounds with rugby largely seen as a white, particularly Afrikaaner sport. Time and legislation has seen this change with more and more players of colour making a huge impact on rugby and cricket. The local soccer games are hugely attended but by mostly black spectators. During the 2010 World Cup the stadiums were full of people from all races and countries. I attended 8 games and they were all wonderful occasions. |
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Post by chrisb on Apr 25, 2018 20:11:03 GMT
Hi Rob, and I for one am so pleased to see this, my family had very strong connections with SA [my Grandfather was head of Castrol out there and my Mother was educated there] and i am the only member of my family not to have visited there, one day Rob, one day
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Post by René on Apr 25, 2018 20:17:08 GMT
Hi Jim, that is really cool, I watched Scotland play Samoa last year and thoroughly enjoyed myself, but sadly i was driving - one day Jim, one day....for the sake of a poor pass.... I also follow football, but for a long time I have despaired with Scotland but I also support Liverpool, who I am now on tenderhooks for a week after last night, but my other great passion will always be cricket and I see at least a couple of games per year, but being of mixed heritage [Scottish, English and German] I support England at cricket but love nothing better than watching Scotland beat them at Rugby, I do find it interesting that football hasn't seemed to have taken off in South Africa, New Zealand I can understand, why would you when you have that incredible rugby set-up? but SA puzzles me Hi Chris Football is very big in South Africa with at least two channels on the cable TV solely dedicated to European and English Football. Previously football and rugby were split on racial grounds with rugby largely seen as a white, particularly Afrikaaner sport. Time and legislation has seen this change with more and more players of colour making a huge impact on rugby and cricket. The local soccer games are hugely attended but by mostly black spectators. During the 2010 World Cup the stadiums were full of people from all races and countries. I attended 8 games and they were all wonderful occasions. Wonderful Rob! And great you attended the World Cup in 2010. Have you by any chance seen the Dutch team? They were very good at this tournament (but unfortunately we lost the final  ). |
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Post by robmarsh on Apr 26, 2018 14:53:39 GMT
Chris and Rene
South Africa is an amazing country and well worth a visit. It has a turbulent history and is still getting over the evils and ills of the past but progress is being made. Sadly a lot of that progress was derailed by a corrupt President and his cronies that probably put the country back ten years, caused the rise of populist politics and raised the race issue once more but the new President is working hard to change that. The country itself is beautiful, Johannesburg, where I live is a very cosmopolitan city with a special vibe all of its own. Generally the people are very friendly but like all large cities there are no go areas.
During the 2010 world cup SA showed the world and itself what it could really do. Those four or so weeks were incredible. The whole country was pulling together, everybody was friendly and we were all proud to be South African and welcome visitors from all over the world. I spoke to Mexicans, Americans, English, Ghananians, Zambians, Zimbabweans and many others. They all loved it and it was just one big happy time. Hopefully we can get back there. My favourite moment was the Ghana/Germany game in the first round. Ghana put up a good fight and it was not a walk over. After the game I was wearing a Ghanian flag draped like a cloak over my shoulders and I joined in the rolling dance along with all the Ghanaian supporters as we exited the stadium.
Rene I saw the Dutch play twice, once in Joburg and then in the second round match in Durban. I wore a bright orange shirt to both matches as I have been a fan of Dutch football since the days of Johan Cruyff, I like the way they play. I was very sad that they didn't make the finals this time. In SA we get all the world cup qualifying games shown on the sports channels here as well.
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Post by René on Apr 26, 2018 20:31:59 GMT
Very cool Rob. I remember very well the 2010 World Cup. Not only for the Dutch team reaching the final but also for the wonderful event it was. So many different countries, cultures and colours celebrating the beauty of sport in South Africa. It was a great event.  |
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