Varsity Cup vibes

If you want a pick-me-up or some kind of assurance that South Africa has a positive future, come to a Varsity Cup game at #NMMU 

Our Madibaz won their rugby match against Wits University last night (24 - 16), but the real winners were those who came out to support them - our students.

For if there was, or is, ever a setting that gives you hope about South Africa - a new, multi-coloured, upbeat country on the rise - then it's attending a Varsity Cup match at NMMU.

This was the first home game of the season and it was to be televised. It was also the first day of lectures for our 27 000-plus student body. It was a perfect evening too and students poured into the NMMU stadium in their droves. In fact, it was undoubtable the biggest NMMU Varsity Cup crowd since the competition began six years ago. I would say at least 5 000 people.

As our rugby has improved (we finished fifth out of eight teams last year), so has the attendance and the atmosphere. 

The res students, who fill the main stand, never stopped singing or waving their Madibaz flags, while the Castle Corner component never stopped partying. It's the first time I have seen the "corner" extend right around to the track, almost to the 200m starting point.

These students are all different colours - though this may not have been captured on television - and reflect our student body statistics of almost 60% black, 24% white, 14% coloured and 2% Asian. 

The cheerleaders, the Madibaz rugby players, NMMU's Miss Varsity Cup's entrants, and the university's future students (children from the adjacent Summerwood Primary School) further reflect a Rainbow Nation utopia.

And so with these scenes comes the hope of what a powerful nation South Africa can become - a vibrant country whose marvellous diversity is always worth celebrating, especially when it unifies us in victory.

Go Madibaz go!