Benni McCarthy: Fans vs. Benni (ref = media)

Good day Mr. Marawa,

I, as a fan, felt compelled to send this mail to protect our precious name. A lot has been said about how fans are so inconsiderate when it comes to the treatment of Benni. I as a fan, am insulted as to how we are portrayed.

This is going to be a long one, so please bear with me.

As a person, Benni McCarthy has done so much for himself that you can never ignore his accomplishments; he has been a great talent to ever come out of our country. He has played the game to the best of his ability and all praises to him.

I heard all the accolades that were showered by one of the listeners last week, and for a second, I felt bad for being such a bad person.

Champions League winner, top goal getter in 3 various leagues, and all round brilliant striker.

I take nothing away from all his accomplishments and I wondered to myself, if he has been such a great ambassador, why are we as the fans have such a hard time honouring him??

I do not play professionally, in fact, the last time I played in an amateur game, I was very slow and sluggish... but my love for the game is far greater than my ability. I want to emphasise that, THE FANS ARE A VERY BIG PART OF THE GAME… do not ignore us, it does not belong to SAFA or Metro FM or Pitso Mosimane or The various club owners. THE GAME BELONGS TO ALL OF US. Ask any player, the game is so much better with a full house of spectators doing what they do best, SUPPORT... while the players do what they do best and play the game. It is the reason that every festive season, we still show our faces to support our local squads at various tournaments around the country.

I also support Kaizer Chiefs, but my Kaizer Chiefs hat is off and I take it personal that because Benni is getting a raw end of the stick, we in Gauteng (particularly Chiefs and Pirates fans) are said to be the ones responsible for the hostility. As much as we may be at fault, it would be noble to shoulder some blame on himself with the hostility he is receiving.

As in the media, they always say, there are always 2 sides to a story... allow me to share the other side (I invite any criticism or debate). Please note, I say this only from my perspective, I do not speak for anybody else, those that hate Chiefs, do not paint with the same brush.

The mail you got about accolades from Patrick (I stand corrected) was well put and correctly understood, it did hit home about the kind of talent we have in this country.

Here is the second side, (please do not label me as a person that hates Benni)

It is all fair and great that we remember that during his time with Bafana 1997 - 2010 (13 years). The man had 79 caps and 31 goals. Based on my calculations, that is not the most impressive accolade. In fact, these numbers tell me a story that everyone has been thinking about.

As a fan, I felt robbed by him. I will never forget the day he made his debut against Holland, we may have lost the game, but he was a refreshing point to talk about for many years to come. The runs he made, the bravery he came in with, the swagger left so many of us with smiles for months. I get shivers just thinking about that moment, very exciting times.

Now, a fresh 20 year old who is taking this game by storm, made me get my hair coloured honey blonde, so no one can tell me that I was never a fan of Benni.

79 caps in 13 years, is a sad reality. I will not judge his goal ratio, just get upset when he gets compared to other strikers like Luiz Ronaldo (97 caps and 62 goals for Brazil). South Africans are not blessed with "World's best strikers"... his number of goals is not important for me now, I look at the caps. Let us observe the caps he has.

As a fan, we play our part by taking out our hard earned money, sacrifice our time and commit to support our game. It becomes a vicious cycle, if we feel we are not getting the best from our Stars, we will never give our best as well. The stars will also know that we are not giving our best to support, and they will also not give their best… it will go on and on until we all realise how important it is for all of us to play our roles.

When I go to the stadium, I want to watch more than 22 guys running around after a ball… I could watch that at the Moloi Grounds in Mapetla. I want to see a show, I want to be dazzled from people who play the game at the highest level. I want to see the best of the best compete against one another, even if you are not the best, please give your best of our ability to make sure I get my time and money's worth.

I will sing from the top of my lung for that… trust me.

But, if you ask me to play my part and you refuse to play your part, I will give you the finger too. Benni gave us the finger... many times. Proof of that is in the numbers. 79 games in 13 years, that is equal to 6 games a year for the national team. Seeing that we are going all out to sing and praise him, let us look at how many games do Bafana Play on average per year and how many has he missed. I do not have the numbers, but I can tell you that they would shock even the biggest butt kissers.

Seeing that we also are fond of comparing, allow me to break it down on the comparison front.

Kolo Toure:
At the time he was playing for Arsenal, he was once interviewed by you on your show and had a fat discussion about National games vs. the Salary payers. Given that the world knows how Arsene Wenger feels about FIFA dates, I was extremely impressed on how Kolo took it in his strides. I think Ivory Coast was due to play Lesotho, on any given day, that would be a walk over for the mighty elephants. No disrespect to Likoena. He could have easily sat this one out, in fact, the entire first choice could have sat this one out. They went and played their stars, cause they know how the fans want to see a show by the most prized soldiers. Kolo Toure actually told you that he does not care what Arsene Wenger's opinion is about him playing that game, he is called by his nation to represent, and that is what he is going to do. PERIOD!

Didier Drogba:
Started to play in 2002 and already has appeared 73 times for his country, and counting. 5 years after McCarthy started playing for his country. You will understand why Drogba will always be a legend in his country, he has made himself a true "Spear and Shield" for his country. The fans know that if he is able to, he will definitely be there. They have learnt to rely on their captain, who by the way, has been a consistent performer for his clubs, so he could have easily played the fatigue card anytime he wanted. So please just do not compare Apples with Oranges, they only thing they have in common is that they are both fruit.

Lionel Messi:
If we were to stage a Bafana Game vs Argentina, trust me, we would all love to see Messi come on and play against Bafana. Messi understands the role he plays for fans, people will pay good money to watch his 30 min appearance at FNB at midnight, never mind a full game at normal time. The young legend is at the tender age of 23 and already played 55 times for his country. He does not have to always show up given that he is playing very regularly for Barca week in week out. Guess what, he shows up and give people a good show... Fans will never be disappointed with his behaviour, he has given so much and they have also given him so much.

Cristiano Ronaldo:
Age 26 and played 80 times for his country and counting... talk about always there. Nuff Said.

Siphiwe Tshabalala:
I know some of the comparison were a little unfair, but let is us take it home a little. Even Pirates fans Love this boy, every South African idolises this young man, in our eyes he is god sent. He is very humble, and every game to him is one to show us that his really loves the game and understands his role. Now and then, some games do not go his way, but we love him cause he always plays to win and leaves his all on the field. At the age of 26, he has already represented the country 57 times since 2006. That is 22 caps away from catching up to Benni. A betting man would not bet against him reaching that mark. (it could have been more if Santana was not here)

Aaron Mokoena:
I will sooner give and shower my praises to this man before I do Benni. Looking at his Bafana career, he has every reason to call it quits. Jeered and booed by the fans, still the first to answer a call-up. He is a soldier that any country would want, first to dive in the mud to test how deep they are, he was there at the darkest hours of the countries football and still remains... his commitment is second to none, I will never speak of Aaron and Benni in the same sentence that involve "Pillar of commitment". Aaron deserves my praise, and I do not think this mail is long enuff to show him how much I respect him and thank his commitment to the country.

Please note, I could have added the likes of Eto'o, Lindan Donovan and Park Ji-sung... but let me spare him the embarrassment.

Now, that I have said what I think fans feel.

Here is another angle that makes me frown on Benni's behaviour. We as the fans are not connected to him. He is connected to the media more and that relationship plays very nicely cause the Media also has an obsession to make us like him. He is a darling to the media, not to us thou. Allow me to make an silly comparison to his relationship with us. It is like a Sibling who is able to give you the best opportunity for a world class education, but still ignores you when you are hungry and need basic food.

Stop shoving him in our throats, he is too bitter... his relationship with the media is more important and the fans can see that. I do not know what he goes thru on a daily basis as a professional, I do not know his troubles and challenges, but I would love to understand them if he reaches down to the people he is now supposed an icon for. Michael Essien did it, when he wanted to retire from international football cause of his never ending injuries... why can't he??

Would love to see him use the media to find out what we feel and how he feels... create a dialogue of some sort that will make us understand his situation.

This should serve as a lesson to the rest of the players, namely Segolela and Shabba... do not turn your back on your fans, cause when they do turn their back on you, it becomes the coldest place ever. Being a footballer, comes with its benefits and occupational hazards, note them and learn from them.

Please do not think that I am anti Benni, but this is a view from the other side of the debate. I welcome the views from the other side that will enable me to change my mind, if you all feel that I am being too harsh on him... let's talk on brapule@gmail.com