Bok Befok - Springbok Nation
There are a few things I’ve had to learn about since moving to South Africa:
Loadshedding
Braais that start at two and where you eat at (or after) eight.
Hadedas
Using 97 adapters to plug anything in
Calling almost everything a sauce
Now, now now, and just now
But rugby was one that I just didn’t think I could do…until recently.
Explaining the rules of rugby - Jimmy Rees on TikTok
Goat Fighting!
If you ask most Americans about rugby, about the only thing they’ll know about it is that it’s what ESPN broadcasts ‘when there aren’t any other sports’.
To the uninitiated, rugby looks like a combination of two childhood games, ‘keep away’, and ‘kill the man with the ball’, only it’s played by people who are built like NFL linebackers and defensive linemen.
When I moved to South Africa, even before, I was informed that I’d have to learn rugby. It’s one of, if not the most popular sports played in the country.
…and there’s no bigger team than the Springboks.
Sports Fanatics
In the US, we have our fair share of sports fanatics. Doesn’t matter if it’s pro or college sports, there are some very dedicated fans (SEC football fans, I’m looking at you). But there’s nothing, and I mean NOTHING that comes close to the support the Boks have.
US fans are typically limited by city (as most teams are) or even by college. About the only national teams that get wide support are when the Olympics are happening or when the USWNT soccer team plays…and thanks to the current US political climate, even that isn’t a for sure thing.
But in South Africa?
62 million people, many in the green and gold, hang on every second of every rugby match the Boks play. And every 4 years when the Rugby World Cup comes around, it only intensifies.
And as I’m writing this, the Boks are set to take on their arch nemesis, the New Zealand All Blacks, for the Rugby World Cup.
I’m Hooked
I started watching during the pool games, and if I’m being honest, I wasn’t getting it for the first couple of them. It still seemed like a silly game to me.
Then came the game against Ireland.
It’s that game where I started to get emotionally invested.
We watched it, and although I didn’t (and still don’t) really understand what I was watching, I found myself cheering on the Bokke and even shouting at them like I was watching an NFL game.
Then we were watching the Scotland-Ireland game, playing out every scenario to try to prognosticate where the Boks would be seeded and who their Quarterfinal opponent would be.
Someone Call a Doctor!
The Quarterfinal against France was a nail-biting, anxious 80 minutes until the Boks pulled it out in the final 10 minutes, beating the host nation by one point.
I think I aged 10 years watching that game.
After the final whistle, Springbok fans across the country celebrated and took their first breath in over 15 minutes.
We all asked that, for the health and sanity of everyone in South Africa, they please, please, please not do that again the following week.
They didn’t listen.
The Semifinal versus England was even more stressful, which I didn’t think was possible. After trailing by 9 for most of the game they, yet again, pulled off a one point victory in the final 10 minutes. The difference was that in this game, they weren’t very competitive for the first 70 minutes. It’s not a stretch to say that Springbok Nation had all but given up before RG Snyman scored the try that cut the lead to 2 at the 69 minute point.
The nation held its collective breath as Handre Pollard lined up for the penalty kick at 78 minutes that would give the Boks a one point lead with 2 minutes left. When he drilled it through the uprights, you could hear the cheering from Jo’burg to Cape Town.
Now, unlike American sports, the time clock really doesn’t mean anything in rugby. Sure the games are 80 minutes long, but in order for the halves to end, some stuff needs to happen that I really don’t understand.
That was, without a doubt, the longest 2-ish minutes in sport.
When the final whistle blew, I think the nation either passed out from exhaustion or broke down in tears.
One More Game
And now it’s the World Cup final this Saturday.
Not since the 1984 Detroit Tigers, the 1993 Suns, the 2001 Diamondbacks, or the 2009 Arizona Cardinals have I been this invested in a team or as anxious, excited, and nervous about a final.
The talking heads will talk all week while South Africans will spend the week recovering from the last two heart stopping matches.
But come Saturday, the Springbok Nation will be representing the Green and Gold as they go for their fourth RWC Championship (as the All Blacks are going for their fourth, as well).
If you know the history between these two nations, it promises to be a helluva match.
So come this Saturday night we’ll be glued to the tv as we cheer on our boys.
To the Springbok Nation, thank you for allowing this American to become a part of you.
I am, unreservedly, Bok Befok.
