Well, officially, off-season is here now, heralding tough times for players, times when some of them turn into destitutes because they hardly get their monthly upkeeps from their teams. Mighty Wanderers and Big Bullets could not even manage a top-four finish in the Super League to qualify for prize money.
But last week, I watched the Blantyre derby from the open stands and enjoyed the flurry of mind games and the one that stood out was when one BB fan taunted his Nomads counterpart, saying: ‘Simukuwalipira mapuleya anu, moti wina amugwira akuba dowe m’munda ku Bangwe.’ [You are not paying your players no wonder one of them was caught stealing green maize at a garden in Bangwe Township] and the Nomads fella hit back‘Ukunena chani iwe, ana munakawatenga ku Lilongwe aja nkesa athawa ati mumangowadyetsa kalongonda.’[What are saying! We hear those players you wanted to get from Lilongwe have run away because you were feeding them buffalo beans}.
The next season won’t be starting until around April. Yes, the 2013/14 season that seemed to head for a listless conclusion finally came to an end last Tuesday. We take a bow to a season rich in substance and long in entertainment that held us spellbound and went down to the wire except for the ugly scenes that occured in Balaka leading to the death of a fan—Lemiyasi Josita (May his soul rest in peace.) At the end of it all, Silver Strikers held their nerve and did it to perfection against Mighty Wanderers. The atmosphere at Kamuzu Stadium did not befit a flagship league decider—no pomp and fanfare, no glittering trophy at the VIP enclosure, no sounds of the drumbeat and no jives from the ‘Biafra’ stand. It was all empty such that crows turned into spectators in their ‘black and white suits’. Hopefully, this served as a lesson to us all on the need to be gentle.
AOB:
By the way, I was facinated by my colleague Jack McBrams’ caption story that appeared in The Nation of a man captured flaunting a ‘manhood enlarger’signpost downtown Blantyre that read: ‘Kukulisa shafuti K1 500’. I wonder if Jack asked this sing’anga if he could be a solution to Manchester United’s misery…I will also not be surprised to see presidential aspirants paying the dude a visit, May 20 is just around the corner. Who doesn’t want to be addressed as ‘Your Excellency?’ Glory be to God! Uloliwe.. Uloliwe wayidudula hi..Nang’esiza! [The train is pushing!]
