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Always up for some light-hearted debate, our 041culture columnist Mvume Ndimba asks “What Makes A World Champion?” while basking in SA’s World Cup Win.

Speaking as a 4 time Rugby World Champion (back to back mind you) I started thinking about what it means to be the best in the world at something… 

So I started like any other amateur writer (and 4-time world champion would) I googled it! 

Collinsdictionary.com defines a world champion as: “someone who has won a competition open to people throughout the whole world.” which, out of context, is a solid, easy-to-define and understand definition. 

The biggest issue is that the world is not a solid, easy-to-define and understand place. In the last decade, we saw a man transition into womanhood and win Woman of the Year her first year in the game! We saw a massive sporting body expose itself for corruption, investigate its own president, and ban him until 2027 while still continuing to host the same tournament he organized (through corruption) in a country that would’ve locked that very same man up who became a woman and went on to win woman of the year her first year buying her own bras.

This brings me back to my initial point that the “world” is not a single monolithic object, unaffected by cultural and societal changes that directly impact what is meant by “the world.” 

I’ll start with a northern hemisphere example of the National Basketball Association, (NBA). 

Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Noah Lyles said it best when he said that calling an NBA championship a “world” title is a misnomer, since the NBA is open to teams from The United States and Canada only, it cannot by definition be called a “world” title… Needless to say, that brother was grabbed by the proverbial gold medal and dragged all over black U.S Twitter for a week (fun fact, the United States FIBA World Cup team finished 4th in the competition losing to Germany in the Semi Final and then taking a second L to Canada in the 3rd and 4th playoff) No apologies were issued to Mr. Lyles besides Stephen A. Smith. The NBA isn’t alone in making this weird world champ claim as Major League Baseball (MLB) claims their big trophy is a “World Series” and that’s crazy because I’ve never even heard of a South African Baseball team let alone a Baseball world cup. I might be wrong, and if I am feel free to take my head off in the comments if you can: 

1. Tell me the team nickname (you know all our teams have an alias)  

2. Show me their last competitive match 

3. Show me their last game against the Yankees because again, the World Series is open only to teams from the US and Canada. 

As the baddies on planet Jupiter look down at Ms. Universe wondering “How is SHE the prettiest woman in the universe? Did they even look outside their planet!?” I bring the example back home to the Southern Hemisphere. 

And we don’t have to look very far for our own example of how the “world” changes with each generation, our uncles, cousins, and colleagues who supported the All Blacks are proof that the world has changed in a matter of a generation. Many people look at those All-Black supporters as haters (and rightfully so) but they only supported New Zealand because they had nowhere else to throw their love and support for the beautiful game of rugby, because when those uncles were still cute, in good shape and outside, outside, it was illegal to be black and play rugby  between 1985 and 1991 (i am not bullshitting you) 

We eventually were allowed back into the international sporting world after 1991 (thank you Madiba) and won our very first Rugby World Cup 4 years later. We had to wait another year to lift the African Cup of Nations trophy in 1996 and have been waiting 27 long years for our next trophy as Bafana Bafana supporters (see that nickname thing again) but still to this day, young men and women still carry the white feather shaped scar over their heart from the days when SARU stood for exclusion and the furthering of apartheid laws that not only made us look weird to the “world”, but also made our team weaker for a lack of diversity.

Our record-breaking super-stud Castor Semenya is a prime example of how the changes in the “world” are the difference between being an icon and a laughing stock, as we sat back as a nation and watched the IAAF tear our good sister apart before our eyes, subjecting her to invasive testing and public scrutiny over something she had no control over. She eventually sued for discrimination and won her case (once again, thank you Madiba) this year and we’re all proud,  but the question is, had she entered the public eye in this decade instead of when she did (all the way back in 2009) would we even be having the discussion around her? Would the court have ruled that she was eligible to compete? Would she be remembered as the butt of a horrible joke emphasizing the naughty word in her surname or would we have statues of her hitting that iconic cobra pose and a Castor award at schools to recognize incredible athletic achievements from the students of that school?

I say this to say that the world as we know it is changing faster and faster, everywhere we look things are just different… The local McDonald’s cut its headcount down from 15 employees to 5 and 2 machines, the electric car is now a viable alternative to the tried and trusted internal combustion engine and stock in nail polish is way, way up because they’re suddenly able to market to men and women simultaneously, and when was the last time you saw a physical CD from your favourite musician?  As a South African it is our duty to always be ahead of the curve, never fighting it or working against it, but covering the curve and moving with it like water (shout out to Tyla) don’t get stuck in the old world, supporting the All Blacks, calling yourself a world champion when you’ve only competed against yourself. The new world is not without its issues, but it’s certainly more fun to live in the now than it is to live in the past, just ask your Maori friends who’ve never set foot in New Zealand, and they’ll tell you!