IT WAS a week when nothing could have been newsier than the US presidential elections, in which Barack Obama secured the keys to the White House for a second and final term.
It was a sight to behold - they can do their thing these Americans, while the rest of the world can only watch in awe.
South Africans no doubt also marvelled at the spectacle and many among us wish we had a similar system to elect our president.
It is no surprise that a mammoth achievement - albeit on a sporting field - by South Africans went almost unnoticed.
Yesterday the nation, or at least the sport-crazed among us, woke up to the news that Banyana Banyana have once again done us proud.
The senior women's football team have done what many were beginning to believe is the impossible - beating Nigeria in an official football match.
It was another first that the girls have achieved ahead of their male counterparts, Bafana Bafana, who have on countless occasions conspired to embarrass a success-craving nation.
Nigeria have been South African football's greatest nemesis since readmission to the global football family back in 1992.
Save for club encounters and one friendly, no South African team has beaten Nigeria since.
Bafana's best results against the West Africans was a 0-2 defeat during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals in Abuja in 2000. Many other encounters ended in tragic one-sided affairs, with the common score a 4-0 drubbing for our boys.
The girls had fared no better either, and the Nigerians must have thought on Wednesday night that they were going to raise no sweat reaching the final of the 8th African Women's Championship, thereby qualifying for the 2015 Fifa Women's World Cup in Canada.
Banyana will now face hosts Equatorial Guinea in the final on Sunday.
While we raise our collective glass to our girls, their coach Joseph Mkhonza has made it clear that for him and the girls this is no time to celebrate. He said they needed to start preparing for the final and would celebrate only when that match was won.
Now, that's the spirit that must have carried the team to their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games in London earlier this year. We know all too well that Banyana will do the nation proud when they troop into battle in Malabo on Sunday.
Their heroics deserve better recognition when they return home, having raised the daily gloom of SA life ever so slightly.
Well done, Banyana!
IT WAS a week when nothing could have been newsier than the US presidential elections, in which Barack Obama secured the keys to the White House for a second and final term.
It was a sight to behold - they can do their thing these Americans, while the rest of the world can only watch in awe.
South Africans no doubt also marvelled at the spectacle and many among us wish we had a similar system to elect our president.
It is no surprise that a mammoth achievement - albeit on a sporting field - by South Africans went almost unnoticed.
Yesterday the nation, or at least the sport-crazed among us, woke up to the news that Banyana Banyana have once again done us proud.
The senior women's football team have done what many were beginning to believe is the impossible - beating Nigeria in an official football match.
It was another first that the girls have achieved ahead of their male counterparts, Bafana Bafana, who have on countless occasions conspired to embarrass a success-craving nation.
Nigeria have been South African football's greatest nemesis since readmission to the global football family back in 1992.
Save for club encounters and one friendly, no South African team has beaten Nigeria since.
Bafana's best results against the West Africans was a 0-2 defeat during the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals in Abuja in 2000. Many other encounters ended in tragic one-sided affairs, with the common score a 4-0 drubbing for our boys.
The girls had fared no better either, and the Nigerians must have thought on Wednesday night that they were going to raise no sweat reaching the final of the 8th African Women's Championship, thereby qualifying for the 2015 Fifa Women's World Cup in Canada.
Banyana will now face hosts Equatorial Guinea in the final on Sunday.
While we raise our collective glass to our girls, their coach Joseph Mkhonza has made it clear that for him and the girls this is no time to celebrate. He said they needed to start preparing for the final and would celebrate only when that match was won.
Now, that's the spirit that must have carried the team to their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games in London earlier this year. We know all too well that Banyana will do the nation proud when they troop into battle in Malabo on Sunday.
Their heroics deserve better recognition when they return home, having raised the daily gloom of SA life ever so slightly.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos