Kaizer Chiefs are everywhere — sparking a national dialogue in SA

Kaizer Chiefs — they’re everywhere

And by everywhere, I mean especially after they won their first two matches of the Betway Premiership. Even more so if you are caught wearing an Orlando Pirates shirt after those victories, with my side of the aisle looking rather grim following the opposite results — two losses in as many matches.

Walk around town in the iconic black, the skull and crossbones embroidered on your breast, and you are more than likely to get the customary greeting — arms crossed at the wrist — or a sardonic smile from those who follow the Glamour Boys, challenging you with an “Amakhosi for life.”

Find yourself in a pub, and you might just be forced to shoot a grim shot of tequila, crowned by a slice of orange, to the health and victory of Chiefs — as was the case this past Wednesday at a launch event wholly unrelated to Premier Soccer League matters.

That’s the type of national dialogue I enjoy … the one that reminds me that, when it comes to South Africans, we are all very much the same despite creed and politics; and in spite of what the toxic cesspools of social media will spout, or our political leaders might blast over a loudhailer.

And it doesn’t take an eye-watering amount of money to inspire it.

Truth be told, domestic football needs Chiefs to be successful. They remain the biggest brand — the marquee sporting name in this country — regardless of the success of Mamelodi Sundowns or Orlando Pirates, the Springboks lifting two consecutive Rugby World Cups, or the Proteas finally getting their hands on a major ICC trophy … cup … mace … thing.

Despite the PSL’s shoddy administration — poor officiating, suspect scheduling, last season’s Royal AM saga, and clubs being sold like cookies at a church bazaar — football in this country continues to thrive. That resilience is mirrored across other major sporting codes, which survive despite questionable boardroom decisions and a lack of adequate state support.

If our football can flourish under such conditions, it’s no surprise that South Africans as a people continue to persevere through far greater challenges — a resilience that defines us beyond the pitch. Our sovereignty might be undermined by nations with ridiculous foreign policy agendas, while graft cripples infrastructure and service delivery, yet no nation can pull itself up from the bootstraps like we do.

If recent sporting events have proven anything, it’s this: we South Africans are a bunch of champions, consistently let down only by the fumbling ineptitude of our leaders across the political spectrum — right to left.

On Saturday, that camaraderie will once again be on display.

In the MTN8, Pirates and Sundowns will pack out Orlando Stadium in the first leg of the semi-finals. They’ll scream, they’ll jeer, they’ll get the moer in, and then sarcastically lament the absence of Chiefs. But in the end, they’ll leave the stadium as countrymen.

The same will be true while the nation watches the Springboks face the Wallabies at Ellis Park, just a few kilometres from Orlando.

Call me an optimist, but perhaps that is where we should start our discussions — on common ground and with common cause. Perhaps it is in those cauldrons that we should look for inspiration to be a better country.

After all, we may bicker, we may boo, we may curse bad referees and worse politicians — but give a South African a Chiefs victory, and suddenly we’re all on the same side, raising a tot of tequila to prove it.