Lakers Fans in Africa

-

Danny Green is remembered fondly in Canada, when he played for the Raptors. Rewind to Game 6 against Golden State Warriors in 2019. Green played like a dream and we won the Championship. He was with Lakers briefly after that. 

Let’s start with general assumptions. What sport is popular in Brazil? What sport is popular in the Caribbean? What sport is popular in India and Pakistan? What sport is popular in the United Kingdom among the working class? How many sports are popular with the English royal class? What sport is popular in Africa? Soccer.

Countries like Nigeria even have betting shops that specialize in the English Premier League and some movie story lines are based on soccer rivalry  like Manchester United (Man-U) and Arsenal. Don’t let the soccer madness fool you. Africans also follow American basketball. Will Africa support LA Lakers in the Play Offs against Denver Nuggets? I’ll say yes for two lukewarm reasons.

Firstly, it’s the jersey. Movie directors love the  Lakers jersey so don’t be surprised if you see it in Nigerian movies, in its original form approved by the NBA or knockoffs from China. You also see it on Lagos streets and other cities.

I regard this reason as lukewarm because it might be because of marketing. The most popular NBA jersey in Africa used to be Chicago Bulls. Was it because of Michael Jordan? It’s a wild guess but it was a jersey to have a long time, until Lakers bumped it. Is LeBron James a factor? We don’t know.

My second lukewarm reason why I say Africa is rooting for Lakers is geography. Nigeria is the second most prolific film producing country in the world, after Bollywood. Therefore, they know  LA, whereas Denver? Is it in America?

Let the best team win.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

No Air Miles

-
Image
I don’t have Air Miles.   I’m considering putting that on a T-Shirt because I cannot go to the drugstore (chemist) or coffee shop without the cashier asking me if I have air miles. We waited for about two minutes the other day, while this guy looked for his Air Miles card in his overweight wallet.   For what?   For a few points. I don’t have air miles because Mathematics is a foreign language.   I was never good in numbers. That is why I squashed the idea of being an investment banker very early in life.   I understand you can invest in cornfields before the soil is turned up or pork bellies even before a baby pig is born. That is how I view air miles, investing in tomorrow or the unknown.   I’m the dumb one.   Some people understand this air miles’ thing so well, I overheard one customer saying: I can even convert my points into cash. Points and air miles are the same thing in Canada and the U.S.   Drugstores or clothing stores even give you a card to collect point
Read more