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I HAVE been covering Dynamos for a quarter-of-a-century, what some prefer to call a Silver Jubilee, an adventure that began two years before the world even knew there was an American rapper called The Notorious B.I.G.

By the time Christopher George Latore Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls, Big Poppa or simply as The Notorious B.I.G announced his arrival on the big stage, with his debut album “Ready To Die” in 1994, I had been covering the Glamour Boys for two years.

The Notorious B.I.G was a classic shooting star, after all he was on the big stage for only three years, and he released just one album in his lifetime before he was killed in that drive-by-shooting in Los Angeles in 1997.

But, a year before the 20th anniversary of his death, his music — and the sing-a-long lyrics like “We used to fuss when the landlord dissed us; No heat, wonder why Christmas missed us; Birthdays were the worst days, now we sip champagne when we thirsty” — have defiantly live on.

Unlike The Notorious B.I.G, Dynamos are not a shooting star, even though one of the Glamour Boys’ finest moments in their history was against a Nigerian team called Shooting Stars in the CAF Cup of Club Champions, before this tournament evolved to be called the CAF Champions League, in 1982.

DeMbare, then rookies in CAF’s flagship inter-club tournament, beat the Nigerian giants 2-1 in their backyard and, then at Rufaro, even turned on the style as they thrashed Shooting Stars 3-0 for a comprehensive 5-1 aggregate landmark victory that made the continent take notice of these Glamour Boys.

Fifteen years later, Shooting Stars would again provide the opponents on a defining afternoon for Dynamos, when — after a 1-5 humbling in Nigeria in the first leg of their CAF Champions League tie — the Glamour Boys were irresistible in the second leg at the National Sports Stadium as they powered to a 3-1 victory.

Such was the purity of their performance that afternoon that, even though they failed to overhaul the first-leg deficit, thanks largely to a five-star performance by the Nigerians’ ‘keeper Baruwa, those Glamour Boys — coached by Sunday Chidzambwa — were given a standing ovation by their fans as they left the pitch even though they had crashed out of the tournament.

Memories of those beautiful sights and sounds, exactly 20 years ago, as the fans saluted their players for an heroic performance in a losing cause, came flooding back into my mind on Sunday when I saw the latest generation of Dynamos’ players, like Peter in that courtyard rejecting Jesus Christ three times before the rooster crowed, being rejected by their fans at Rufaro.

For someone who has been in the trenches with these Glamour Boys for 25 years, covering nine of their successful league championship campaigns, who covered their entire 1998 Champions League adventure, who was with them in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, that year when only 90 minutes separated them from becoming African champions, the events on Sunday — as I saw their fans reject them — provided a seismic shock.

How was it possible, I asked myself, that such an enduring love affair between the fans and their team, which had survived that mass exodus of players to Shooting Stars exactly 10 years ago which tested their romance to the limit and could have shattered their special bond, could be broken just like that?

How was it possible, I asked myself, that such a beautiful love story between the fans and their team, which had survived the formation of Dynamos United in 1993, with Gift “Ghetto” Mpariwa and Francis Shonhayi briefly crossing the floor to join the new team which promised the players heaven on earth, could be shattered just like that?

How was it possible, I asked myself, that such a lasting romantic tale between the fans and their team, which had survived the frustrations of those 10 bleak years from 1997 to 2007 when these Glamour Boys had staggered in darkness, failing to win a league title and even flirting with relegation, could be destroyed just like that?

In more than a quarter-of-a-century, God has given me the privilege of a front-row seat in this job covering these Glamour Boys and I have seen a lot of things to write more than 10 books, including seeing George Mandizvidza somehow defying gravity in Maputo in 1998 as he changed direction in mid-air in a stunning display of flexibility that I haven’t seen since from a ‘keeper.

But I had never seen anything as ugly as that rejection from their fans in the place they call home.

The fury from those fans, as they told their players that they were not part of them anymore, that they were pathetic clones of people who should be wearing that famous blue jersey, that they were an insult to everything that this club has stood for, that they were, at worst, a cancer and, at best, a sick joke they don’t deserve the supporters’ patronage, support, company or sympathy, was such a powerful message, in its ugliness, it made me freeze.

And, to add insult to the emotional injuries they inflicted on their players, the Dynamos fans then proceeded to give a standing ovation to the triumphant FC Platinum players, in what should be the first such act of saluting an opponent who had come to Rufaro, and beaten their team, in the history of a club whose supporters used to throw missiles at opposition players for just celebrating a goal in front of the Vietnam Stand.

I was there at Rufaro, 20 years ago, when Stewart Murisa’s goal brought a premature end to a BP League Cup showdown between Dynamos and CAPS United, because the DeMbare fans could not stomach it anymore.

And I was also there at the same stadium, 10 years ago, when Prince Mbara’s goal, to make it 3-0 for Shooting Stars, and his subsequent celebrations in front of the Vietnam Stand, also brought a premature end to a league match because the DeMbare fans could not take it anymore.

So what had changed now, I kept asking myself, to such an extent that triumphant opponents — who just five years ago represented the ultimate opposition in that thrilling head-to-head showdown that culminated in what others believe to be the Miracle of Mandava — could be given a standing ovation at Rufaro by the DeMbare fans?

In that mist of questions, and very few answers, I drove away from a Rufaro where the beauty of football had long been consumed by the ugliness of that battle between those stone-throwing fans and the police, a cloud of tear gas, shattered windscreens, and all the mayhem of that bloody Sunday.

THE STATISTICS THAT HAVE GENERATED A LOT OF ANGER

When Dynamos crashed to a shock 0-3 loss, at the hands of Chicken Inn in a top-of-the-table Castle Lager Premiership tie at Rufaro on May 3 last year, it was the worst defeat, by the Glamour Boys, in a league match, for TEN YEARS.

It matched their loss, by a similar margin, to Monomotapa in October 2005, but even though that game was at Rufaro, DeMbare had the alibi of having been the away team.

Although the Glamour Boys were losing 0-3, against Shooting Stars, in the final game of the season in December 2006, in David Mandigora’s first spell in charge as coach, the game ended prematurely in the 61st minute after riots broke out at Rufaro.

Shooting Stars, who were the home team, were eventually awarded the match 3-0 via a boardroom verdict.

But, for a home game, that 0-3 mauling at the hands of Chicken Inn at Rufaro last year, was the worst league defeat for DeMbare since they were humbled 0-5 by a rampant Motor Action at the same venue on April 2, 2005, with Clyde Musiya, Edward Tembo, Dabwitso Nkhoma, Salim Milanzi and Edmore Mufema scoring the goals.

The significance of the Bulawayo side’s phenomenal achievement, to come to Rufaro and win 3-0, can be captured in the statistics that it had taken 282 league games — spread over 10 seasons — for a team to hand Dynamos such a comprehensive beating in a league match.

And it had taken 304 league games for DeMbare to suffer such a thorough beating, in a home match, and the last time the Glamour Boys had suffered such a big home defeat, in a league match, was the day Pope John Paul II died, YouTube had not yet been launched and a month would pass before the super jumbo, Airbus A380, made its maiden flight.

The Dynamos fans ask themselves, when was the last time their team failed to score in three straight games at home, as is the case right now, and when they can’t find an answer to that question, it generates widespread anger among them.

They ask themselves, when was the last time their team failed to score in four of its five league games, as is the case now, and when they can’t find an answer to that question it generates anger among them.

They look at their attack and they don’t see any hope that things will change soon, some say Gwekwerere should carry a tag that reads “Best before 2007”, Mutuma looks horribly out of depth, Kawondera appears to be an insult to a name that used to represent brilliance in this game from the days of Raphael to Shingi, Bulaji is staggering in the darkness while Mupasiri carries too much social baggage.

In the 25 years that I have covered this club, I have never seen such a lightweight Dynamos, such a lifeless bunch of Glamour Boys, such a toothless DeMbare, such a hopeless Chazunguza, such a clueless bunch of Boys-In-Blue, such a random collection of misfits wearing these iconic colours, such pretenders disguised as the real deal, a club that has come to represent greatness in domestic football.

And, if it’s the leadership that recruited these players, then they should bear responsibility and take all the blame being directed at them.

The goalkeeper is fine but, it appears, that’s where the quality ends and quantity starts and maybe the arrival of Murape Murape, a man who knows what it means to wear that blue-and-white shirt, could provide these players with a reference point, in the dressing room, to evoke the Glamour Boys’ spirit.

For this was the man who used to go to the Vietnam Stand to be the cheerleader, on the occasions he was dropped by Pasuwa from the team, to join the fans in singing and cheering for his teammates and a man whose name they used to sing before every match.

IT’S A PITY THE CHAOS OVERSHADOWED A BEAUTIFUL STORY

The tragedy about the wild post-match events at Rufaro on Sunday is that the headlines went to the wrong team, the wrong things, and day-after-day we have been bombarded with newspaper stories about the negativity of what happened in that parking lot at the stadium as stones flew amid a cloud of teargas.

It’s a pity that the beauty of the events of that afternoon, the superb performance of an FC Platinum side which played football with a style that made it a crime not to appreciate the purity of their show, was never fully told, buried in the rubble of that chaos and the avalanche of the missiles that flew in that parking lot.

It was a performance that had a rhythm, a show that was easy on the eye, the solidity of a defence that never seemed to panic, the productivity of a midfield that was full of creativity, the way their wingers kept finding width on that compact field, and freedom on those flanks, and the forceful nature of their forwards which kept the opposition at bay.

On the occasions they chose to pass the ball around they did it with a style that bordered on arrogance, running rings around the Dynamos players, always finding their teammates with completed passes that showed this was something that had been done, over and over, at the training ground and, all the time, keeping their shape intact just in case something went wrong and they needed to turn into a defensive mode.

The critics of the domestic Premiership say that it is a boring league, usually players just pump long balls from the back in the hope that they will find their teammates in the attacking third and something will happen, the midfield is usually by-passed in what is called football’s version of ping-pong.

But I guess those critics don’t see a lot of FC Platinum games because this is a team that is committed to the values of passing and flowing football and, at Rufaro on Sunday, they were at full throttle, they ticked every box, and it would have been diabolical if they had lost the game given they dominated in every department.

Such was their dominance their opponents never got going, the first meaningful shot towards their goal came after 54 minutes, and even when they conceded those corner kicks, in the dying moments, they never panicked, trusting their talents to repel the danger.

Watching them spread the ball around the field, with such assurance and style, made me understand why they are a team that has now gone more than a year, 26 league matches, without losing a game.

At Rufaro that day, they made it 27 league games without a loss.

They have twice beaten Dynamos (3-1 at Mandava and 1-0 at Rufaro); twice beaten Highlanders (2-1 at Barbourfields last year and 2-1 at the same venue this year); they have thrashed How Mine 3-0 in Bulawayo; thrashed ZPC Kariba 3-0 in Kariba; beaten Triangle in the Lowveld and drawn against CAPS United during that golden run.

This year they have already beaten Bosso at Barbourfields and Dynamos at Rufaro and that is a sign of a very strong team.

Of course, the season is still in its infancy and a lot can happen, something that Norman Mapeza knows too well, but his men – who received a standing ovation at Rufaro on Sunday – are standing up to be counted in this championship race.

IF YOU THINK I’VE STAYED

TOO LONG IN THIS JOB, WHAT ABOUT SAFER?

Occasionally I get people who say “Rob, you have stayed too long in that job, working for the same newspaper in the same department,” maybe you need a fresh challenge because 25 years, a quarter-of-a-century, is a long time.

But, if that is the case, what about Morley Safer, the American journalist whose name became synonymous with the television news magazine show “60 Minutes,” who died on Thursday aged 84?

He joined the CBS programme in 1970, the year I was born, just two years after it was launched and had been working there ever since, contributing 919 reports over the years.

He filed his last report in March and retired from work last week only because of poor health.

“He was an extraordinary writer and reporter, and a true gentleman,” said CNN anchor Anderson Cooper.

“He set the standard for what we all want to be as journalists. His kind shall not pass this way again.”

Only last week, when his retirement was announced, Safer said, “It’s been a wonderful run, but the time has come to say goodbye to all of my friends at CBS and the dozens of people who kept me on the air.”

This guy had worked at CBS for every year that I have been on this earth and he retired just four years short of a Golden Jubilee, 50 years, and that’s double the number of years I have been here and, in that line of duty, covered different generations of Glamour Boys and, in that time, there have assembled some good, and average sides, but none as weak as the current one.

Maybe, a few years from now, when this great club regains its soul, the young boys who were there at Rufaro on Sunday can reflect on these tough times through songs and I can write them some lyrics copied from The Notorious B.I.G but adapted to their circumstances: “We used to fuss when the opponents beat us; No joy, wonder why Rufaro pained us; Home games were the worst games, now our boys win even when they are thirsty”.

Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Khamaldinhooooooooooooooooo!

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