Let me just apologize for not being able to fill this blog with posts during the week. I would like to be regular, but I have work related deadlines to meet. And feeding my family will always take the too spot on my priority list. Would you blame a man for taking care of business? I know you wouldn’t.
I would like to thank Subi and Kifimbocheza for sharing the news that Dr. Watson, that man who made claims that black folks are less intelligent that whites, finally resigned from his post as chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York state. To me this is not only victory to all black people out there, but to every human who abhors bigotry.
Man, I hope he learned something.
That being taken care of, we can go back to what was on my mind.
Just like most men, I love sports. May be sports fits well in the men’s psych. May men are just naturally born to fight over something. That’s why my wife can’t understand why I watch classics on ESPN. Even if I watched Michael Jordan dunk on someone in 1989, it is sweet to watch the episode over again (besides, men don’t complain when wives fixed their eyes on All Our Children).
Winning is always sweet. If it is not for the ultimate championship, it is just for the bragging rights and our egos. Winning boosts our ego. Surprisingly, even fans that hardly sweat (actually they do when they scream) find something to fight over. Try Simba and Yanga fans. Although fighting between the fans of these teams could end very soon, now that Simba has been chewing Yanga left and right of late.
I know that Simba fans are magego nje for turning Yanga into “regular customers”. Nevertheless, is Simba really winning? Is Yanga really losing? In my mind, both teams are losers. Not small time losers, but big time losers. I know you will start thinking that Metty is going bananas. I am not. I am just taking us out of the box.
The recent “fights” between Dar Young Africans and their “sponsor”, Mr. Manji, is just an indication that even an educated person such as Madega, who is currently the team’s elected chairman, is still missing the boat. I am not going all out on that claim though, because I could be missing some facts on how these teams are run, and why someone like Manji could be willing to spend his money on Yanga. I mean, what’s the catch? I don’t believe that Manji is not getting anything in return.
Regardless of hidden systems that are utilized to run Simba and Yanga clubs, one this is definite – money is needed to run a successful soccer team. My biggest question is this: why do Simba and Yanga always run to some individuals or “friends” to fund the club? I mean, wouldn’t common sense tell someone that if the club has been begging for the past twenty years, with no permanent plans in place to secure funds, the same trend is bound to be experienced for the next twenty years?
I don’t want to talk about a mindset change again, but we must agree that there is a certain mindset within these clubs that must change. I know that of late Simba and Yanga have become just regular clubs – given the fact that “regular” teams have been whipping their tails left and right. Regardless, these clubs have a rich history that cannot be overlooked when talking about soccer in Tanzania. As such, whatever positive trends they set, other teams in the country will most likely follow such a trend.
The biggest question may be, is this: what is really stopping Simba and Yanga from exploiting their own potential? I don’t know about you, but this really startles me. Could Simba and Yanga be winning more in the market place than what little victories they currently celebrate?
Please just read this previous post of mine on Simba and Yanga's economic potential.
Once you finish reading, just let me know what you think. I really don’t know, but something is amiss somewhere.
Enjoy your weekend.
I would like to thank Subi and Kifimbocheza for sharing the news that Dr. Watson, that man who made claims that black folks are less intelligent that whites, finally resigned from his post as chancellor of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York state. To me this is not only victory to all black people out there, but to every human who abhors bigotry.
Man, I hope he learned something.
That being taken care of, we can go back to what was on my mind.
Just like most men, I love sports. May be sports fits well in the men’s psych. May men are just naturally born to fight over something. That’s why my wife can’t understand why I watch classics on ESPN. Even if I watched Michael Jordan dunk on someone in 1989, it is sweet to watch the episode over again (besides, men don’t complain when wives fixed their eyes on All Our Children).
Winning is always sweet. If it is not for the ultimate championship, it is just for the bragging rights and our egos. Winning boosts our ego. Surprisingly, even fans that hardly sweat (actually they do when they scream) find something to fight over. Try Simba and Yanga fans. Although fighting between the fans of these teams could end very soon, now that Simba has been chewing Yanga left and right of late.
I know that Simba fans are magego nje for turning Yanga into “regular customers”. Nevertheless, is Simba really winning? Is Yanga really losing? In my mind, both teams are losers. Not small time losers, but big time losers. I know you will start thinking that Metty is going bananas. I am not. I am just taking us out of the box.
The recent “fights” between Dar Young Africans and their “sponsor”, Mr. Manji, is just an indication that even an educated person such as Madega, who is currently the team’s elected chairman, is still missing the boat. I am not going all out on that claim though, because I could be missing some facts on how these teams are run, and why someone like Manji could be willing to spend his money on Yanga. I mean, what’s the catch? I don’t believe that Manji is not getting anything in return.
Regardless of hidden systems that are utilized to run Simba and Yanga clubs, one this is definite – money is needed to run a successful soccer team. My biggest question is this: why do Simba and Yanga always run to some individuals or “friends” to fund the club? I mean, wouldn’t common sense tell someone that if the club has been begging for the past twenty years, with no permanent plans in place to secure funds, the same trend is bound to be experienced for the next twenty years?
I don’t want to talk about a mindset change again, but we must agree that there is a certain mindset within these clubs that must change. I know that of late Simba and Yanga have become just regular clubs – given the fact that “regular” teams have been whipping their tails left and right. Regardless, these clubs have a rich history that cannot be overlooked when talking about soccer in Tanzania. As such, whatever positive trends they set, other teams in the country will most likely follow such a trend.
The biggest question may be, is this: what is really stopping Simba and Yanga from exploiting their own potential? I don’t know about you, but this really startles me. Could Simba and Yanga be winning more in the market place than what little victories they currently celebrate?
Please just read this previous post of mine on Simba and Yanga's economic potential.
Once you finish reading, just let me know what you think. I really don’t know, but something is amiss somewhere.
Enjoy your weekend.
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Photo Credit: Michuzi
1 comment:
I read that old post a couple of days ago, actually.
A friend of mine was involved in efforts to develop Simba (I'm a Yanga man myself) and he finally gave up. Not surprisingly, this was due to others getting involved mainly to use the club as an eating opportunity and not as an asset. Not necessarily by eating club funds, though that happens, but getting involved in order to benefit from the Simba mtandao that opens many doors.
I'm not sure what the solution is, but my heart goes out to the players, who are the ones exploited.
A recent visit to Yanga HQ was dispiriting. Such a state of dilapidation of such prime assets
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