What is in a name?
What makes a name powerful? Is it what we associate with that name? What it represents? And who has the power to change what a name stands for?
The most significant thing for me on Saturday night was not the Kings win over the Force. Statistically the Force is the second worst Super Rugby team in history – personally, I think they are the worst. I predicted in the week leading up to the weekend’s fixtures that the Kings will win, for no other reason than my prediction that the Bulls will beat the Stormers and the Sharks will beat the Cheetahs.
No, it was not the win in Port Elisabeth which made me sit up and take note – it was the fact that over a period of 2 hours 22 guys running out in black, sponsor-less shirts gave a whole new meaning to the word Kings.
It is significant in many ways for me. Firstly, for the fact on how SA Rugby screwed up what was supposed to be a simple thing and only officially announcing the Kings participation in Super Rugby 5 months before the competition kicked off with only a one year guarantee giving them zero chance of signing title sponsors for the competition. More importantly however, it was significant because through nothing more than their actions on a rugby field, a bunch of no-name players manage to change the perceptions, and power of a name they are associated with.
Of course the haters will still hate, not much will ever change that, but where the name of the Kings before only carried or represented all that is negative and wrong in our rugby, it took on a different meaning.
One just have to Google the name Southern Spears or Southern Kings to see what I mean – 99% of what you will find will be about resentment, political meddling, transformation, quotas, court cases, Apartheid and every conceivable negative association that you could wish to find, and little to nothing about the actual game of rugby.
Yet, on a beautiful February evening in the friendly city, 22 guys in those sponsor-less jersey’s had 32 000 supporters in raptures, and from some experiences I am reading about, even tears. An 18-year old winger’s name who is a product from the local school, Grey PE, was suddenly on everyone’s lips as was some loose-forward I am sure 90% of supporters never heard of.
This is not some fairy-tale, the tough games will come, the 40, or 50+ scores will also come, that is the nature of this competition and what history will show happens to any new team coming into the toughest club competition in the world. But that does not matter so much. What matters was a team walking around the stadium after the final whistle thanking their city for coming out in their thousands to support them, and showing that a name, is in fact what you make of it.
elcamino
logan
Tina
ROOILEEU
KingPaul
Methos The French Stormer
Thomas_Bulls
Deon
Aldo
JT_BOKBEFOK!
garyj1-Bulls
Amethyst
trevormayhew
Pom in Joburg
Marcel
namboer
Jacques(Bunny)Somtimes I sits and thinks and sometimes I just sits
RUGGA_MIND
Quinn25
Pokkel
moose
Vernonimous
Watte
niekie
Dante
Panther
Vetgesmeerde Blits
bryce_in_oz
Kozac
Blokkies
Number12_Lions
Brutus2
Lehe6
Estian Nortier
DavidS
johanleroux13
Morné
Tafelberg
pietstreak
Ollie
Koos
February 25th, 2013 at 11:20 am
I personally think the name doesn’t matter, it is as you say who it represents.
The association by name develops over the time.
February 26th, 2013 at 10:12 am
must say all the Kings arse licking is getting on my tits a bit. The griquas do more for rugby and with much less resources and big names than the kings ever will. It remains nothing more than a political game in a country that have long since stopped being a winning one.
These guys did great on the field and that was all you could ask of the players.
The situation still stinks
February 26th, 2013 at 10:14 am
soon we will be asked to love the watsons and sommer fokken fight apartheid all over again and then kill ourselves out of shame for what we have done. Its all bullocks
February 26th, 2013 at 2:38 pm
Wow. All this Kings stuff.
Showing what I know – I tuned into the game and was surprised. Kings #8 was really good I think a winger for them was too, but the biggest surprise? I was under the impression that most of the team was going to be black or supposed to be etc. I bet that happened with NZ & Aus viewers as well – not all but a significant portion of us bumpkins out here.
I think the Cheetahs need to inject some drama into their setup somehow – then they’ll be getting 100+ comments on their posts(:
February 26th, 2013 at 2:58 pm
Reply to Americano @ 2:38 pm:
They could start winning… Oh wait – that is not important to some.
February 26th, 2013 at 9:40 pm
Why were there so few spectators?
Ticket prices?
Disgust with Verster’s management?
Or is Bloem just too small to produce
more paying spectators?
Where are the men with all the answers?
Cheetah? Dawie?
February 26th, 2013 at 10:03 pm
Reply to Boertjie @ 9:40 pm:
If NMMU, Pukke, Tukkies, etc. can get 10 000 people to watch a Varsity Cup game, what the hell stops the Cheetahs, a Super Rugby franchise, multiple CC winners, to get at least 30 000 into Bloem stadium?
For my money, their brand is worth shit. Market the brand (which can include their awesome running rugby, fearless rugby, platteland values, name it) and you will have people supporting.
They are feeling so sorry for themselves they forgot to look at what they have, and how powerful it can become.
February 26th, 2013 at 11:00 pm
Reply to Morné @ 10:03 pm:
So you’re throwing the ball to Verster
and his cronies?
I was around when SWD punted their brand -
with much less to offer.
Still don’t know where they got the money
to become Noord-Transvaal B.
But I’m a firm believer a union or club is
as strong as its management – have many
examples to prove this.
February 26th, 2013 at 11:19 pm
What is in a name? How about a name like Cheeky? Not a nice guy apparently. Any worse than any of the other union presidents? Probably not. But mention his NAME and you have many white south africans frothing at the mouth and going into apoplectic fits at the name Watson. People apparently hate Luke for saying that based on history including his own very personal history in Oz he felt so bad that he’d rather puke on the jersey. Now we may disagree or be downright angry, but to hate as badly as they do. For heaven sake I love my boks and my blood is green but for come on its a jersey dammit. Do we really need to damn someone to the pit of hell or worse just for that statement. The fact that he has apologised makes us look even worse. Our own vile behaviour is ten times worse. We can forgive Murder, Cheating, lying, stealing but never ever puking on the jersey!! No springbok team was ever selected under Danie Craven without political meddling where was the fuss. Black and coloured people were not allowed to play – was this not political meddling? Where was the viscious antagonism. But OMG the very possibility that the ANC meddled. Damn Luke to hell.
Methinks that at the heart of all the vile rubbish blogged on so many websites and discussed around so many braais is the fact that the Watsons are white people who supported and still? support the ANC. That is the unforgiveable sin. The Watsons become the conduit for all the frustration, anger and hurt at some of the stuff happening in this country. I cant help thinking that if Cheeky was Afrikaans and an NP old soldier, the manner in which he has managed the Kings introduction would guarantee him the SARU presidency. What is in a name?
February 27th, 2013 at 2:18 am
Reply to Boertjie @ 9:40 pm:
Perhaps fans just don’t like all that pointless running and passing. Contrast the 44K at Loftus.
If you follow what people do, rather than what they say, you often find the hidden truths.
February 27th, 2013 at 5:04 am
I’m ok with the pointless running & passing. Winning is preferred but a spirited/dramatic loss I chalk as performance art.
Something else is needed to draw the fans such as .25 beers, dunk tank with local politicians, maybe a petting zoo post game – I dunno. A solid scrum might be nice too
February 27th, 2013 at 9:38 am
Reply to marko @ 11:19 pm:
absolutely nothing wrong with supporting the ANC. Everything wrong with being part of its fatcat tenderpreneur class who use race and any other excuse to get your way while you rob your own people blind.
These are not good people. And I am not speaking about Luke, who is still young and who by the sounds of it might soon fight a different battle- this time against his father and his cronies.
February 27th, 2013 at 9:41 am
As for the Cheetahs, our marketing approach is very much stuck in the 1980′s. But a big part of the problem is that a small town like Bloem simply does not have enough rugby supporting people to fill stadiums, yet the town hosts major sports, not to mention varsity cup rugby. They need the surrounding towns to fill the stadium yet give a fuck about them.
February 27th, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 9:41 am: Bloem is quoted as having a population of somewhere between 450 000 and 600 000 depending on the source quoted. This should put you guys out of the small town status. The problem might be that many are not currently rugby followers.
Your first marketing thrust might be to get them onboard. Next market the Cheetahs brand amongst the surrounding Platteland towns. Do the Cheetahs players ever make appearances in townships around Bloem or at functions in surrounding Platteland towns? An example of the value of this is the trouble the Crusaders go to to market their brand in country areas as a means of growing the support base. Naka should speak to some of his Aussie counterparts while he is touring Downunder – rugby union is #3 in the popularity stakes in many parts of Oz yet they manage to fill the stadiums. How do they manage to do this?
February 27th, 2013 at 3:19 pm
Reply to out wide @ 2:00 pm:
Free State has over 2-million people (about a quarter of which lives in Bloem), economically generates 18 Billion US (ZAR 145.4 Billion) – government stats 2010.
The Cheetahs franchise represent all of this.
Yes it is not as small as Gauteng or doesn’t generate as much money, but you cannot get 20 000 people into a stadium?
They only need 10% of the Bloem population to come to rugby on a Saturday and the stadium will be packed! Surely more than 10% of people support rugby in Bloem provided they have one of the best rugby schools in the world?
As for the brand, there are thousands if not tens of thousands of Cheetah supporters around SA to which this brand can be marketed to.
You might not know a crazy fuck on here once called Murph who sort of ran his own supporters club for the Cheetahs. Where are their official supporters clubs? Have you been to their Facebook page lately? Follow them on Twitter? Hell even Griquas has a better social media presence.
The Cheetahs are the only SA union I have to beg for media releases (and still not get it).
I once tried to organise a primary school who was on tour in the Free State to tour the stadium, attend a practice and have a Cheetahs shirt (which the school would’ve supplied) signed so they could auction it off to help to pay for the tour – you know they wanted to fucking charge the school R600 to get a jersey signed?
I love the Cheetahs (rugby style), Bloem and the people from the State, but I feel sweet blue fuckall for that union.
February 27th, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Reply to Morné @ 3:19 pm:
A local area TV black-out for the game until the stadium is full – I think they use to do that in Oz for cricket!?
February 27th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Reply to out wide @ 2:00 pm:
rugby union is #3 in the popularity stakes in many parts of Oz yet they manage to fill the stadiums.
They do?
Does your stadiums only house 25,000?
And then they cheer when they get 20,000?
Fill us in.
February 27th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
Some good comments. Morne is of course correct. Cheetahs probably the least professional of all the unions.
But one aspect cannot be ignored, and in comparison with say the Crusaders make sense. The latter have a much smaller stadium than we do.
I have been to Cheetah games last year and the people who do go are passionate and knowledgeable and vocal, yet here we talk about 10 000 people.
That stadium is simple too big to create any form of vibe and vibe at stadiums attract more vibe.
But Morne is also correct in saying our administration has a ‘poor me’attitude and with that you never get anywhere.
Between the 4 lines we are ok. The minute you step outside of it we falter.
February 27th, 2013 at 6:06 pm
Reply to The Year of the Cheetah @ 4:54 pm:
You have no idea how it pisses me off Brendon. The Cheetahs are the one union I am actually really angry at, the rest for all I care can fuck up as much as they want. But the Cheetahs imo should be the heartbeat of SA Rugby.
February 27th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
I saw something else today – Grey Primary and Grey Senior produces twice, and 3 times as many Super Rugby players respectively than any other school in SA (from a Cheetah source!).
How the hell can they not make that work for them – the money excuse only goes that far – unlike the Kings or Eastern Cape they have always been one of the big 5 in SA.
February 27th, 2013 at 8:18 pm
Murph, now that is one wickedly crasy guy, and funny as hell. Shees the comments he used to make. What ever happened to him? The good old days when ruggaworld was still a post a minute and I had more time to be on here.
February 27th, 2013 at 8:33 pm
Reply to Aldo @ 8:18 pm:
It is because guys like you and Murph had more time to be on here that we had a post a minute!
Murph is still around, actually, posts ever now and then but hell his nicks are hard to keep track of.
February 28th, 2013 at 12:58 am
Here is a nice little graph showing the income of the big football clubs
http://www.economist.com/news/economic-and-financial-indicators/21570739-football-wealth
I think, once the percentage of revenues from the TV contract hits a threshold, the club management just start to neglect the other things. Getting people to attend the game is just too much work for too little reward.
February 28th, 2013 at 7:34 am
Reply to Boertjie @ 4:28 pm: Ok, I wondered if I would be pinged on using the writers word “fill”. So they “populate” their stadiums rather well in Oz given the size of the stadiums and the greater popularity of Aussie rules and Rugby league in many states there.