sitting at home i have found myself listening to the radio that is on somewhere in the lounge. jacob zuma's voice is ringing through my house and this time; i am genuinely smiling at what he is saying.
in his speech to the world in the aftermatch of the 2010 world cup, he has stated one thing that im sure the majority of south africans will agree with:
"We did it well, we did it successfully and after six years of preparation, the future prospects of this country and continent do not lay dormant but will now rise to meet the endless opportunities that Africa holds."
faced with so much criticism before the world cup started, it was obvious that numerous south african spirits were dampened. however, as a south african, as a supporter and as a person who had doubts i can say that we definately proved even the most monotonous critics wrong.
and if the sucessful running of the world cup were not enough; there is definately one thing that will stand out for me.
a moment in the festivities last night that really gave me goosebumps.
it wasn't a goal.
it wasn't the magnificance of the stadium.
it wasn't even the amazing unity of the people.
no, it was the five minutes in which the father of our country, Nelson Mandela, came onto the pitch. he raised 85 000 people to their feet and bought an applause that no team could ever bring to a stadium. his smile was greater than all of the smiles of the spanish team put together.
that is our country.
this is how far we have come.
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