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The Pirates Fan
Cost is not a factor when it comes to Lusanda Mchunu’s favourite soccer team, Orlando Pirates.
She recently spent more than R4 000 on travel, accommodation and meals just so she could watch her team play at Cape Town Stadium. To some, this may seem ludicrous, but to her, it’s all about the love of the game.
Mchunu eats and lives Orlando Pirates. Her Facebook page is full of pictures of her dressed in full Pirates gear. And her wardrobe is mainly black and white.
Mchunu, who lives in Jabulani, Soweto, blames her uncle for her undying love of the team: “Everything I know about Pirates, I learnt from him.”
It started back in 1998 while the family was still living in Nkandla. Her uncle was the only one who had a television and they were only allowed to watch TV on weekends, and those were times when soccer was being broadcast.
“To gain entry into his room, my uncle would demand that we make a Buccaneer sign. As we watched the game, he would teach us about the rules of soccer and why Pirates was the best team.
“I ended up loving Pirates and following their games every time I had the opportunity,” she says.
In 2005, Mchunu moved to Johannesburg and her uncle took her to a stadium to watch a Pirates game. She says she loved the experience and wished she could be at every game, but finances did not allow this because she was still a student at the University of Johannesburg.
Four years later, she started working and that’s when she decided that she would be at every Pirates game as long as it was in Gauteng.
She would go alone to these games, and then one day she met Pirates superfan Joy, who welcomed her with open arms.
She says: “We have been inseparable. We go to all the games, even if they are out of town.”
Mchunu says home games are not expensive for her because she only needs about R150, which covers her ticket, travel costs and meals.
But she does not compromise when it comes to her team’s kit. Every season, she buys a new shirt and now owns more than 15 Pirates jerseys.
“The most expensive kit I have bought so far cost me R1 450. I bought a Pirates track suit for R950 and jersey for R500 last month.
“Cost is not a factor when it comes to Pirates. I would rather go hungry than miss a game or not buy kit,” she says.
Mchunu, who is a card-carrying member of the club, says her team will take the Carling Black Label Cup.
“This cup is ours and [Kaizer] Chiefs know this well. It has been with us for years and will stay with us,” she says.
LUSANDA
JERSEY- R500
TRACKSUIT- R950
TICKET- R40
TRAVEL, VUVUZELA AND MEALS- R110
The Chiefs Fan
Ntombi Nzama has not missed a Kaizer Chiefs home game in well over a decade.
Come rain or shine she is at the stadium, adorned in yellow and black, backing her favourite team.
Even if there is a family funeral, Nzama finds a way of sneaking off immediately after the formal proceedings just so she can get to the stadium before kick-off.
The Soweto resident, a self-titled superfan who considers herself a member of the Kaizer Chiefs family, fell in love with the team at a young age.
She says during family gatherings her late grandmother, who was also a staunch Chiefs fan, would hand out sweets to all her grandchildren – but if a grandchild approached her without displaying the Chiefs peace sign there would be no sweets for that grandchild.
“It’s funny when I think about it now because my grandmother was brainwashing us, turning us into Chiefs supporters without us knowing it. We were too young to understand football, but she made sure that we were already supporters of her favourite team, even before we understood the game.”
As fate would have it, Nzama’s cousin, Cyril Nzama, was to become a popular Kaizer Chiefs player. Although this further fuelled her passion for Amakhosi, Ntombi gives all the credit for her superfan status to her grandmother.
“When Cyril joined Chiefs, I was already a fan of the team because grandma had drilled it into us. But I must admit that his opportunity made me love the team even more.”
In 2002, she met a man who was a staunch Chiefs supporter. He took her to a Soweto derby and that was the first time she watched a game live at the stadium.
“The experience was exciting but overwhelming at the same time. I loved Chiefs but it seemed I was surrounded by people who loved it more.
“Since that day I have never missed a Chiefs home game. If they are playing in other provinces, I make sure that I am home before the game starts on TV.
“I know my sister and my daughter are sometimes annoyed by my love of the game because I hog the remote when Chiefs are playing, but they have learnt to live with it.”
As a superfan Ntombi is up to date with what is happening at Naturena and she says it troubles her that Itumeleng Khune and Mandla Masango believed they were bigger than the team and fellow players.
“Khune is a brilliant goalkeeper but to make such demands was ridiculous and unfair to other players. I am happy though that sanity has prevailed and he is back home.
“Khune’s absence due to injury and his stubbornness may have been a blessing in disguise because it has exposed the treasure we have in goalkeeper Brilliant Khuzwayo.”
Ntombi has been eagerly awaiting the Soweto derby. “Even if we don’t win, it won’t be a train smash. We have been winning anyway and Pirates have had a dry season. Besides, the Carling Black Label Cup seems to favour Pirates and, as Chiefs fans, we have accepted that.”
NTOMBI
JERSEY- R750
TRANSPORT- R60
TICKET- R40
VUVUZELA, FLAG AND MEALS- R100
