Peace and Love all around

The Big Read: Some of the banners said it all: "Orlando Bulls", framing neatly the skull of a bull and the beloved crossed bones of Soweto soccer legends Orlando Pirates below it.

The Super14 rugby semifinal between the Bulls and the Crusaders on Saturday was a day on which the home team's fans crossed not only the Jukskei but perhaps their Rubicon.

It was a day that cultures met instead of clashed, and the dramas were logistical rather than egotistical.

Yes, there were obvious shortcomings, but ground-breaking events have a habit of causing tremors beyond their intended area of focus.

From a purely rugby point of view, the Bulls, in beating the Crusaders 39-24, proved that matches are won through the content and execution of a game plan, and not by the colour of those occupying the stands.

Bulls captain Victor Matfield, in fully embracing the occasion, is now undeniably its poster boy.

In the build-up to the clash he spoke passionately about its significance, and the experience left him with the glow that accompanies vindication.

"Loftus will remain our home, but this was unbelievable. It was awesome," said Matfield.

He wasn't just crowing about his team's resounding victory.

Playing in his 100th game for the Bulls, Matfield seemed to be blown away by those who blew hard into their vuvuzelas. For the record, he didn't even mention kuduzelas.

"Where else do you get the combination of boeremusiek and vuvuzelas?

"It just shows you how far we've come in our rugby. It was wonderful to witness and it was truly a historic day," Matfield said sagely.

Before the match, Bulls coach Frans Ludeke deliberately played down the wider significance of the match.

"In the build-up, we didn't want to make too much of the historic significance of the match. It was just a case of getting everybody attuned to what they were supposed to do," Ludeke explained in his understated, matter-of-fact way.

There had been some conflicting reports about ticket sales and, as the kick-off approached, the number of empty seats seemed to vindicate the naysayers.

But that had more to do with traffic management at the ground, which takes getting used to.

There were no bakkies on the field or in the limited parking bays around the ground because ticket holders had to be bused in.

With Nasrec the designated site for the masses to park at, traffic congestion was always going to be unavoidable, especially with the Nedbank Cup final taking place at nearby Soccer City.

The off-ramps on the N1 to the area provided sufficient proof that two well-attended matches should not be scheduled in the same place on the same day.

The traffic jam was compounded by the road agency's decision to close one lane, supposedly for the exclusive use of construction vehicles.

But so severely was the traffic backed up that soon minibus, bakkie, cabriolet, bus, truck and saloon were hurtling down the restricted lane.

Speaking of saloon, traffic moved at such a snail's pace that many passengers flung open their doors to pay attention to the liquid refreshment in the boot.

Good thing they did because at least one serving point inside the stadium ran out of beer 10 minutes into the match.

Reports suggested a shebeen just outside the stadium suffered the same indignity. In its case, the beer ran out even before kick-off.

The other reason people weren't in their designated seats at the start of the game was that they simply couldn't find them.

Mind you, if folks arrived only in the second half they would have been spared the TV-inspired spectacle that is Elton and Jan during the half-time break.

These two brought their misguided hip-hop act to the playing surface with the Bulls Babes (or whatever they are called these days), and in one "foul swoop" the femmes went from vrou to ho.

Thankfully, the Bulls banished that memory with a superb second-half performance that befitted the vibe inside the intimate stadium.

The noise was at times quite deafening. Fortunately, the sound generated inside Orlando stadium is kept within its confines by a roof that covers every inch of the top tier of seats.

It was a day for people to get to know each other.

One off-duty black broadcaster was tapped on the shoulder by a Bulls fan with wider interests.

"Het jy televisie? Ons wil die Stormers kom kyk" (Do you have a television? We want to come watch the Stormers)," the fan asked.

The reply was delivered in the spirit of the moment: "Ja, ek het. Maar ek woon in Greenside (I do, but I live in Greenside)".

"O f*k."

It was, above all, a day to savour.