COMMENT BY MORGAN BOLTON
It was just after Samkelisiwe ‘Sam Sam’ Thubane’s left rear tyre exploded, his co-driver flailing about as he stood up out of the sunroof to rag doll effect, my face blasted with rubber, that I had an epiphany: Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie might be onto something here.
Admittedly, many of us snickered incredulously – myself included – when McKenzie declared that he would make spinning legit.
But as I chewed on the shredded thread so spectacularly detonated in my general direction, coughing through the burnt rubber, wiping the debris off my shirt while standing next to the barrier erected for the Red Bull Showrun, I could only admit to myself that it was all rather exhilarating to watch.
Spinning is just on a different level 😲😳🤯#RedBullShowrun @IOL @IOLsport @TheStar_news pic.twitter.com/TaTCnJ4f0M
— Morgan Bolton (@FreemanZAR) October 6, 2024
Earlier on this past Sunday, Thubane was officially unveiled as the first pro-spinning driver, signed by the energy drink manufacturer.
He joins a stable of athletes sponsored by the company, which includes the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Dewald Brevis, Siya Kolisi, Brad Binder and Max Verstappen.
“Spinning and stance is not a crime,” McKenzie had declared earlier this year, when he was confirmed into the Cabinet.
“I’m so excited because I promised that spinning will be recognised, and I’m going to make spinning one of the biggest sports in this country…
“When there is a spinning event in Mitchells Plain, it has been proven that there are zero incidents of shooting. When a boy has an interest in cars, he doesn’t have time for drugs. He just worries about his car.
“You guys have been treated like dogs. Those days are over. We are going to have massive competitions with big prize money.”
Watching Rugby World Cups and visiting host nations while discussing the importance of winning the Premiership or the consequences of a successful SA20, can sometimes make you forget that sport is not always about the grandiose, or about winning silverware and the prestige of being recognised as the best.
Over 120 seconds of a F1 car racing down the streets of Sandton?
— Morgan Bolton (@FreemanZAR) October 6, 2024
Okay ...#RedbullShowrun @IOL @IOLsport @TheStar_news pic.twitter.com/QWXRPW1mHg
Sometimes, and perhaps more importantly, it is about society and improving communities.
Sometimes it is about creating a safe space for a group of individuals that feel ostracised, giving the misfits a home, and removing the stigma from their clique, however niche it might be.
Sometimes it’s about the bigger picture, too, like addressing the socio-economic problems many South Africans face. Sometimes, it is about hope.
Skateboarding was held with much contempt once and now it is an Olympic sport. The same was true of BMX. Drifting, as Elias Hountondji – one half of the Drift Brothers who compete in the European Drift Masters Grand Prix – will proclaim, was once also seen in a negative light.
“A dangerous, hooligan sport,” was the exact description Hountondji used on Sunday, as he now travels the world with two 1000hp BMWs, every space of those cars sponsored by major multinational corporations.
I'm sure that there will be push-back from those who will see such change as removing spinning of its origins, traditions and the inherent danger of heresy.
But if it can improve our country, and make the lives of our people better, then McKenzie and the government should certainly take the empowered steps to do so.
I am not saying it is a silver bullet that will correct the many ills of a nation, but rather another tool in the fight to do so.
“Who would have thought that a kid who started spinning at the age of 12,” Thubane said, pointing to F1 driver David Coulthard, Hountondji and pro-stunt driver Arunas Gibieza, “would one day be sitting with these professional athletes. For me, it is a dream come true.
“It used to be a sport for gangsters,” Thubane continued.
“(But) with the minister coming in and trying to make it an official sport, I believe that there are going to be a lot of opportunities for kids in Mpumalanga, in the Eastern Cape.”
At the end of the day, is creating opportunities and teaching lessons not the true goal of all sport?