I’m already all hankering for the World Cup to start. That’s what makes tomorrow’s Real Madrid v. Barca and local debut of the Philadelphia Union (you betcha I’ll be there) all the more attention-grabbing. (Not to mention the looming Barca/Inter Milan UEFA semi-showdown which, quite frankly, is more exciting than any friggin’ Super Bowl that Elway didn’t win.)
Back to the World Cup’s host nation, South Africa. Check out this week’s Sports Illustrated piece on Matthew Booth of the home side. Or, as he’s better known: the lone white guy on the team.
On the eve of the 2010 World Cup, perhaps no player is better positioned to unite all South Africans behind the home team than Booth, who owes his massive popularity to a variety of factors. Maybe it’s the way he helped shut down opposing forwards during South Africa’s better-than-expected showing at the Confederations Cup. Maybe it’s his outspoken support for improved soccer facilities and education in the townships, or his call for an end to the perception of soccer as a “black” sport in South Africa and rugby and cricket as “white” sports. Or maybe it’s his marriage to Sonia, a former model, Miss South Africa finalist and self-described “township girl” from Soweto, one of the few high-profile interracial unions in a country still striving to achieve Nelson Mandela’s vision of the Rainbow Nation. …
It’s enough to make you wonder: In a nation where racial divisions remain deep, how did a white player who grew up attending all-white schools become a hero in the black townships?
Great question.