Rebecca enjoying a soccer tournment

I went to a soccer tournament.  Yes, me, Rebecca Duchesneau, went to a soccer tournament.   I wouldn’t exactly call myself a sport enthusiast yet, but I really enjoyed the weekend where I ended up watching more soccer games in two days, than I have in my entire life.

Fire Fighters Under 11 team

The team I was cheering for all day is called The Firefighters. They’re from Khayelitsha (one of the townships in South Africa).  I honestly know nothing about soccer, but I can tell you these guys are really good at what they do.  I know because our Under 11 team made it to the Finals, the Under 15 team made it to the Seim-finals, so they must be pretty good right?! The Firefighters are a really special team, from their coaches to their players.  I guess I’ll talk about their coaches first, Power, and Bongi.  They are honestly two of the friendliest and most welcoming people I have ever met.  Not only that but the way they treat their players stood out from many of the other coaches there.  They treat their players with such respect, and are always encouraging them. After a loss I watched Bongi hug his upset players, and make them see how well they actually did. Every game they could, the boys watched each other; the older ones watched the younger ones, and vice versa.  They were constantly there supporting each other, and rooting the other team on.  When the eleven and unders lost, the older guys all came onto the field and told them what a good game they had played and encouraged them to take a lap around the field in front of all the spectators.  These guys are a family, and really care about one another. They’re not just a team. 

Rebecca helps distribute sandwiches between games

At the finals it was really hard to see all the supporters for the opposing teams, and maybe a handful of us for the Firefighters.  (Of course that only encouraged the few of us to scream and cheer as loud as we possibly could, and it’s not like we don’t already stick out as the white Americans in the crowd haha).  That’s not to say that our guys don’t have a support network, but it really showed me how lucky I and everyone else is, that growing up our parents could take the day off and come cheer us on and support us with whatever we were involved in or that they had a car and were able to come to these important events in our lives.

The Firefighters are not well-funded, sponsored, don’t have the fancy gear and matching warm-ups that the other teams do, but they have each other.  Whether that comes off as corny or cheesy, it’s true. They have a real team.  Real because they are a support system for each other in every sense of the word.

I’m actually having a really hard time writing this, because I want to do the Firefighters justice and I feel like my words aren’t enough to really explain how special this soccer team is.  I want people to understand that this is an amazing story.  Maybe not like any of the famous sports movies like, The Titans, or Miracle, but a real one that I see whenever I’m with these guys.