By Chan U-Gene, The Straits Times, 5 May 2014
IT WAS June 24, 1995. A warm wintry afternoon in Johannesburg, South Africa, before the start of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final between the hosts and the seemingly indomitable New Zealand All Blacks.
A proud black man strolled onto the Ellis Park stadium pitch, in full sight of the 63,000 in attendance and millions of TV viewers worldwide. An oversized green jersey was draped on his sinewy frame and, on its back, printed in gold, was the revered No. 6 of Springbok captain Francois Pienaar.
That man was the late Nelson Mandela, the first black president of his nation. His gesture that day was a pivotal moment in South Africa's path to reconciliation and post-apartheid democracy.
By embracing the prancing antelope of the white Afrikaners, he signalled to his countrymen, and the world, that it was time to leave behind the decades of hatred and racism. On that day, many believe, the "rainbow nation" began to bond as one.
Mr Mandela, who spent years training as a youth amateur boxer, instinctively understood the importance of competitive sport. No other platform possesses its unique capacity for gathering a disparate people and uniting them with a common purpose.
With its great, captive audiences, competitive sport at the highest level evolves from a mere game into a vehicle with the potential to inspire and drive people towards bigger causes.
The United States' National Basketball Association (NBA), for example, owns a global community outreach initiative called NBA Cares. Since 2005, the league and teams have raised more than US$230 million (S$288 million) for charity and provided more than 2.8 million hours of community service.
Top football club Barcelona FC of Spain reminds its estimated fan base of 300 million worldwide of the importance of charity work by donating US$2 million a year to Unicef to keep the name of the United Nations children's agency on its jersey.
Football fans are known for their fierce loyalty, which has ignited many feisty rivalries such as that between English clubs Manchester United and Liverpool.
But every four years when the World Cup - which attracts 3.2 billion viewers - comes along, Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard swop their clubs' red for England's white. Following suit, their local fans put allegiances aside in the name of national pride.
As opposed to the days when warriors and knights carried their country's flags on their spears and shields, today's gladiators have their nation's colours sewn onto their jerseys and do battle in the sporting arenas.
The result of modern sporting encounters, of course, is rarely a matter of life and death. But the importance of winning cannot be underplayed.
The powerful imagery of victory on the sporting field brings a primal, unbridled joy. It can also form a cohesive national identity for a people.
Notice how often when a goal is scored, a nation for a brief yet magical moment unites in a single celebratory howl. In that moment, even the most painful memories are temporarily forgotten.
In 2011, the Japanese women's football team played above themselves to win the World Cup on a fairytale run. It was their first title, but more importantly their victory was a much-needed reprieve from the horrors of the earthquake and tsunami in their country which left 23,000 people dead just four months earlier.
Following success, hope springs and a nation dreams. Today, every Brazilian child with a ball in the favelas of Santos or beaches of Rio dreams of juggling his way out of poverty by becoming the next Pele or Ronaldo.
Excelling on the world stage creates a positive image for a country.
Like the former Soviet Union - which dominated the Olympic Games from 1956 in Melbourne to 1988 in Seoul (losing out to the US in the medal tally only in 1964 and 1968) - other countries have pursued sporting excellence with a fervour, suggesting that victory is testament to the superiority of one's sovereign strength.
Even outside the competition arena, the organising of the Olympics has been a showcase of the host's capabilities.
The successful hosting of the Beijing 2008 Games, starting with a spectacular opening ceremony, served as China's shout-out to the world. In those three weeks, the Chinese emphasised to the world that after having emerged from decades of civil war and internal conflict, they were rightfully the next global superpower.
On a personal level, competitive sport - and its crucible of triumph, perseverance and failure - has forged some of the toughest characters on the planet.
This teaches us to win. That if at first you don't succeed, try again. Or in swimmer Diana Nyad's case, try another three times.
In her fifth attempt, and at the age of 64, the American last year became the first person to complete the 180km swim from Cuba to Florida without the aid of a shark cage. She braved storms, jellyfish and shark attacks during the 53 hours it took to complete the feat.
Sport also teaches sacrifice. That the colour of gold does not come easy. Olympic swimming superstar Michael Phelps famously trained at least once a day for five consecutive years before the Beijing Games - where his eight-gold record still stands as the best performance in the Games' history.
But for its many tales of success, sport also reminds us that victory can, sometimes, come without winning - as long as our arduous journey to the top is guided by a steady moral compass.
In 2008, US women's softball rivals Central Washington and Western Oregon met at Ellensburg, Washington, in their battle for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (division two) title.
The visitors' Sara Tucholsky hit a home run and started running to first base, when her right knee buckled and she collapsed.
If any of her teammates had touched her, it would have been a disqualification. Stunningly, opponents Mallory Holtman and Liz Wallace picked Tucholsky up and carried her around the diamond, gently stopping to lower her leg to touch each base - thereby giving the batter her first career home run.
Central Washington lost that game 2-4, but soon won their country's admiration for displaying moral courage and outstanding sportsmanship.
But not every sport story ends happily. Some lose their way in the pursuit of perfection. They, however, serve as a timely reminder to always respect the rules.
Former cycling hero Lance Armstrong fought cancer and won the Tour de France a record seven times. But he fell from grace when he was found to have doped his way to victory, and was stripped of his titles in 2012.
Cheaters aside, competitive athletes share strong values of discipline, dedication and leadership. As their careers wind down and they seek employment in the corporate world, most find that these qualities are highly sought after by corporations and companies.
International human resource firm Adecco has capitalised on this demand by partnering the International Olympic Committee to help more than 10,000 Olympic athletes after their sporting careers ended.
To take the idea of the modern Olympics at its purest is to seek without discrimination the highest jumper, the fastest runner and the strongest man.
In that quest, many - both participants and viewers - will discover a plurality of lessons that will shape morality and inspire mankind.
Said the now-retired Pienaar, on Mr Mandela's appearance: "And he turned around and my number was on his back, and that was it. I couldn't sing the anthem because I knew that I would cry. I was just so proud to be a South African that day."
Of course, the Springboks won that day, 15-12. But some might argue that victory, on a much bigger scale, was achieved way before the final whistle.
THE SINGAPORE PERSPECTIVE
Sport now part of local psyche
By Chan U-Gene, The Straits Times, 5 May 2014
Sport now part of local psyche
By Chan U-Gene, The Straits Times, 5 May 2014
A STRUCTURAL marvel is taking shape on the Singapore city horizon and, by June, the Singapore Sports Hub will finally be ready to begin the one-year countdown to the 2015 SEA Games.
The $1.33 billion, 35ha facility will serve as the nation's showpiece as it hosts the 28th edition of the biennial championships.
It has been more than 20 years since the Games was last held here and there is a sense of eager anticipation as Team Singapore gears up to better its previous best tally of 50 golds, 40 silvers and 74 bronzes when it hosted the 1993 edition. A record haul of medals should go some way to adding to the festive mood of Singapore's 50th birthday.
As Sydney witnessed during the 2000 Olympics and London at the 2012 Games, there is something magical about a successful home team at a well-run event.
London's notoriously cynical populace were won over by Team GB. But it was not just those with the Union Jack on their chests who were cheered.
The London Olympics' army of volunteers and staff were also hailed for bringing a feel-good atmosphere to the normally dour English capital.
Singaporeans need not go back too far in history to recall similar heart-warming moments. When the national women's table tennis team ended a 48-year drought for an Olympic medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, the nation cheered. The Lions have been giving football fans something to roar about over the last decade, winning three Asean championships.
At a time when Singaporeans may have differing views about the state of public transport, an increasingly populated island and the rising cost of living, sport can be the common goal that brings a populace closer.
And it is not just confined to being spectators.
More than $250 million will be spent over the next five years to improve sport infrastructure and help build a Singapore sporting culture. In schools, children are encouraged to pick up a sport, with educators recognising the benefits that sport - and its focus on teamwork and fair play - can bring to shaping young minds.
As the Sports Hub's iconic dome signals a new dawn for sport in Singapore, it will also hopefully mark the awakening of sport within the Singapore psyche.
This is the seventh of 12 primers on various current affairs issues, published in the run-up to The Straits Times-Ministry of Education National Current Affairs Quiz
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