The Eagles are rocking Auckland this weekend, but for us, the music has died

IT’S really a very good weekend to be Down Under — the first race of the 2015 Formula One season gets underway in Melbourne tomorrow and Lewis Hamilton, the world champion arrived in style in his $30 million Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet. Zimbabwe’s cricketers will wave goodbye to the World Cup, with a date against defending champions India in Auckland today, a showdown against their former skipper, Duncan Fletcher, now head coach of the World Cup holders.

After a World Cup that ended at the first hurdle, with four losses in five games, the Zimbabwe cricketers will plunge into their swansong feeling like they have been travelling “on a dark desert highway, cool wind in (their) hair, warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air.”

Their fans will be hoping that “up ahead in the distance, (their team will see) a shimmering light, (their) head grew heavy and (their) sight grew dim (and, they) had to stop for the night, there she stood in the doorway, (they) heard the mission bell and they will be thinking to themselves, ‘this could be Heaven or this could be Hell.’”

Someone will probably pick some “voices down the corridor,” and say “I thought I heard them say, ‘Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place, such a lovely face, plenty of room at the Hotel California, any time of year, you can find it here.’”

If you are a music fan, you might have picked out by now, that this is about The Eagles, that American super rock group, which has sold more than 150 million copies around the world and gave the globe one of its theme songs — Hotel California.

Well, The Eagles are in Auckland this weekend, their first musical shows in this country in more than two decades, as part of their World Tour, and they are bringing the house down, the original plan was to have just one show today, but it sold out, in minutes, a second show had to be organised tomorrow.

For some of us, our tour Down Under has come to an end, it’s time to pack the bags and return home, the Chevrons didn’t battle long enough to justify our continued stay here and, just like everyone here, we have also been sucked into The Eaglesmania.

And so, you can understand why, just before I depart, I had to call up the Captain, and tell him “Please bring me my wine,” (and) he said, “we haven’t had the spirit, since nineteen sixty nine.”

But still those voices are calling from far away, wake you up in the middle of the night, just to hear them say: “Welcome to the Hotel California, such a lovely place, such a lovely face.”

Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice, and she said “we are all just prisoners here, of our own device,” and in the master’s chambers, we gathered for the feast, they stab it with their steely knives, but (we) just can’t kill the beast.

Last thing I remember, I was running for the door, I had to find the passage back to the place I was before, “Relax,” said the nightman, “we are programmed to receive, you will check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

Goodbye New Zealand, goodbye Australia, it has been quite an experience, my third straight ICC Cricket World Cup (the Caribbean 2007) and India (2011), has been an interesting one, from being bewitched by Tasmania to being embraced by the good folks of Melbourne.

In those big houses, in remarkably quiet and clean low-density suburbs, they know how to host their country folks in Melbourne and I had a great experience in the hands of Zwane Dhlakama and his family, Givemore Masibhera and family and Mudhara Bofu, and really felt at home, far away from home, when I was there.

The Zimbabwean community here have been very impressive, in the way they embraced their national cricket team, supported its World Cup adventure, made it fashionable to be a proud Zimbabwean who could sing and dance in backing a national cause, rooting for dear motherland.

And even after they returned to New Zealand, having been knocked out of this World Cup, the Zimbabwe community in Auckland still felt compelled to host the team at a dinner on Wednesday night, showing the boys that, even though things hadn’t gone according to plan, the people here still felt the players had represented them with distinction.

To see them play at the World Cup, the biggest stage of them all in sport, in the backyards they now call home, was very fulfilling and they backed their men, in good and bad times, with songs that might not have matched The Eagles in quality, but certainly powerful enough to inspire the Chevrons and make them feel very loved in this tournament.

Syd Madziva, a man who used to be my schoolmate back in our days at Sanyati Baptist High School in the late ‘80s, and who has been resident in New Zealand for some time, told me he derived a lot of pride in the way the Chevrons fought for their country at this World Cup, even though they failed to make the knock-out stages, saying they battled with the right spirit one expects from sporting ambassadors.

LEAVING BEHIND A BLAZE OF CONTROVERSY
If you have been following my World Cup coverage, you would have noted the storm, around the world, which has been generated by a report I filed for The Herald this week after I dared question whether Irish cricketer John Mooney, whose controversial ghost catch dumped us out of the World Cup, had the honesty to protect the spirit of a game that has always been built on the values of gentlemen.

The Irish have been seething with anger, in all corners of the world, and a number of threats have been issued against me, including some who have promised to physically harm me, and on Wednesday night I was even a guest on Irish radio as the drama played out and, when I was asked if I regretted the words I wrote in that article, I told the show anchor that I didn’t.

The abuse, though, has been overwhelming.

“Mate don’t be biased when you write articles. It just shows what a c**t you are,” an Irishman, Ross Connor Wilson, said in an e-mail sent to my account.

“And, besides the fact that you live in a s**t country, with c**t people, you really aren’t doing anything positive for the image of your country or your crappy news service by making s**t like you did about John Mooney.

“You can’t help that Zimbabweans can’t play cricket, so don’t blame it on others.”

My name has featured, in just about every newspaper, around the globe.

Cricket Ireland authorities even took the unprecedented step of reporting me to the International Cricket Council, as they stood by their man, saying that my decision to bring back his recent battles against alcoholism and link it to that ghost catch, wondering if he could be the kind of man to be trusted to make an honest call, was a blow below the belt.

Irish newspapers have also been seething with anger, throwing all sorts of bricks in my direction, and questioning why I should have the nerve to question the integrity of a man who was now seen as an Irish hero, the athlete who took a very difficult, but decisive catch that kept their World Cup alive, and hailing him as the ultimate comeback kid.

The good man who overcame his personal demons to return to the big stage and fight for his country “with integrity” and whose triumph over the challenges he faced recently, according to those newspapers, needed to be saluted, even when he plunges into the kind of controversy that we saw on Saturday.

Even our own Brendan Taylor was forced to make an apology, on behalf of the Zimbabwe team, to Mooney and Cricket Ireland, saying the tone of my article was unfortunate and the Chevrons did not identify with it at all.

As if I ever asked the team to identify with any of my articles.

Predictably, the Irish have picked my long-running dispute with ZIFA, over Asiagate, and found the weapon they badly needed to also tear into me, saying I wasn’t qualified to question Mooney’s honesty because I had my issues, where my integrity was tarnished, by our football leaders.

That I have spent the last four years trying to clear my name from these heartless football leaders, even paying a US$6 000 fee, for my case to be heard three years ago, and that my lawyers have written so many letters to ZIFA, asking for their judgment, without even getting acknowledgement that the letters arrived, has suddenly become irrelevant.

That I have been told, by sources, the reason why ZIFA can’t release the findings of their Appeals Committee is because the judgments reverse the association’s initial foolish decision to try and ban me, even though they didn’t have that authority, doesn’t really matter now.

That FIFA have refused to endorse the laughable decision taken by ZIFA doesn’t really matter now because, when people believe they have to attack you, they look for anything they believe will damage you.

WHEN THE IRISH WERE ANGRY ABOUT THIERRY
Well, it’s funny how the world operates, isn’t it, and what is good for the goose can certainly not be good for the gander.

Only five years ago, we read The Sun, telling us that the Irish were so mad with Thierry Henry, whose handball helped create the goal for William Gallas that knocked the Irish out of the final qualifier for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, they were even boycotting the Henry vacuum cleaners.

Some people, according to The Sun, even defaced the smiling cartoon faces that are painted on the front of the vacuum cleaners, with others writing abusive messages, targeted at Thierry, next to the Henry logo.

“Several cleaners say they’re unhappy working with vacuum cleaners with the cheat’s name written on them,” a worker at a government building in Dublin told The Sun.

“Some have painted over the name on the cleaner and wiped the smile off its little red face. It just shows how the frustration caused by that goal has got to everyone in Ireland.”

The Irish newspapers all captured the massive disappointment in their country, in the wake of Thierry’s controversial hand assist in Paris, and the Irish Independent concluded that Ireland were cheated out of the World Cup finals.

“The French were embarrassed for sure. At the end they played loud rock music to drown out the singing of 15 000 travelling Irish fans, their own supporters muted.”

And, for the Independent, the drama didn’t end five years ago because, last year, when it was announced that Thierry will now be a pundit on Sky Sport, following his retirement from football, the ghost of handball incident was brought back into the spotlight.

“Now wait for the embarrassing Facebook pages when Thierry Henry dares to criticise an Irish player on Sky Sports,” journalist Ger Keville wrote in the Independent.

“Thierry Henry CHEATED, It was BLATANT, it was ORCHESTRATED and SICKENING.

“While the mere mention of the name Thierry Henry sent most Irish fans into a rage, myself included, in the days following the nightmare in Paris, it dawned on the majority that these things can happen in football.

“It happened to us on one of the biggest stages of all, it hurt but there is a time to move on.

“Some have mentioned that Thierry Henry’s retirement from football might bring some sort of closure to Ireland’s war with the Frenchman. Wishful thinking.

“Get ready for more anti-Henry Facebook pages. First one goes live the moment the Frenchman dares to criticise John O’Shea, James McCarthy or any other Irish player on Sky Sports’ Super Sunday or Monday Night Football.”

The Irish Football Association Twitter account was hacked and someone even wrote, “Happy retirement to Thierry Henry. Good riddance to that USELESS, CHEATING N****R.”

Dermot Ahern, the Irish justice minister then, told The Telegraph the government was demanding a replay because, failure to nullify that result, would send the wrong signal that footballers like Henry could cheat their way to success.

“It’s the least we owe the thousands of devastated young fans around the country,” he said. “Otherwise, if that result remains, it reinforces the view that if you cheat, you will win.”

The Dublin Evening Herald front page screamed, “YOU CHEAT”, in reference to Henry, and one newspaper even called his handball, “HAND OF THE FROG,” in a cruel, if not abusive, reference to Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God.”

The Mirror said “Furious football fans labelled Thierry Henry as Le Cheat yesterday over his handball that allowed France to beat Ireland to a World Cup place,” and Irish golf star Padraig Harrington told the newspaper, the Frenchman’s delight, after the goal, was “the celebration of the cheating.”

The Irish Sun looked for voices to condemn Henry and Liam Brady, the Arsenal legend, was interviewed and the headline told the entire story, “Brady blasts ‘SHAMEFUL’ Henry”.

Irish supporters also threatened a boycott of the Gillette shaving products endorsed by Henry and, suddenly, “We hate Thierry Henry” pages appeared on Facebook, and they were followed by a petition to have the former Arsenal skipper’s hands cut off.

A protest organised at the French Embassy attracted sores of Irish fans chanting “If you hate Henry, clap your hands.”

“Since Ireland lost the game last Wednesday due to Thierry Henry’s handball, virtually nothing else has been talked about here. In the pubs and in the press, Ireland is united, at least on the issue that France should concede to a rematch,” it was noted. And, it’s good for the Irish to call Thierry a cheat and not good for us to question John Mooney.

Come on guys, it’s one world, isn’t it?

A PRE-SEASON PREGNANT WITH DERBYMANIA
Of course, I have been following the events from home from a distance and I saw that the Dynamos family was delirious on Sunday for silencing Rodreck Mutuma by beating CAPS United in the Bob 91 Super Cup final.

I didn’t see Ronald Chitiyo’s goal that beat the Green Machine but some have called it a gem and, if it is, then he has perfected the art of scoring spectacular goals every time he faces goalkeeper Victor Twaliki after his beauty, last year, gave the Glamour Boys victory at Rufaro.

Rooney is the opposite of Roddie, he prefers to let his football do most of the talking, he won’t come out to tell the media that he is the best in the country and, when he fails to touch the heights the fans expected from him, as was the case last season, he concedes that he didn’t do as well as he would have liked.

He is a model professional, his tough background from Epworth has made him understand that he can’t take anything for granted and, because he wants to better himself, and the lot for his family, means he is always putting that extra effort.

Teammates speak highly of a true professional, who puts in a lot of hours at the training ground trying to push himself to reach the heights that the fans demand of his talent, and journalists speak of a humble young man who is a delight to interview even though he doesn’t like the limelight.

He is the ultimate team player, a man who doesn’t see himself as the star, around whom everything should revolve, but part of a team, part of a unit, which is more important than the individuals who make it up.

I like The Prince, because he brings the drama everywhere he goes, and you get this feeling that our football, which has been losing all its decent players to South Africa, need all that drama for it to keep provoking interest among the fans.

But Rooney, without a doubt, is liked by more neutrals who feel he is a symbol of the professional they want to see in a footballer, never part of the controversy, always battling for the team and, now and again, producing sheer moments of brilliance that will create memories to last a life-time.

Just as well, Rooney was there to win it for Bla Yogi, the pressure was beginning to become unbearable, and one gets a feeling that we will have a very good season this year, CAPS United will not go away, despite the narrow defeat on Sunday, and they will work even harder to get things right the next time they plunge into battle.

Maybe, three games against their biggest rivals in successive weeks, became too much for the Green Machine, but anyone who is taking Sunday’s result as a sign that it will be business, as usual, with them losing to DeMbare, might be getting it wrong.

There is some fight in this Green Machine, but as the emperor showed on Sunday, it is not about to give away its crown without a fight and now that it has someone like Rooney among its troops, you can be assured that there will be fireworks.

The fans of the two giants will be hoping that “up ahead in the distance, (their teams will see) a shimmering light, (their) heads grew heavy and (their) sight grew dim (and, they) had to stop for the night, there she stood in the doorway, (they) heard the mission bell and they will be thinking to themselves, ‘this could be heaven or this could be hell.’”

Of course, The Eagles are in Auckland and you can sing the lyrics of their classic song, ‘Hotel California’, to the next Derby, but for us, on this tour of duty, the music has died.

To God Be The Glory!

Come on United!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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