My friend Matt recently recommended an article to me that he read at the Economist.com on how Nelson Mandela became a fan of rugby so that he could relate to the stern warden of his prisoner, and that it later became a cultural touchstone for all South Africans to rally around as they began a new, more tolerant era in the early 1990s.
The article is inspired by the writing of journalist John Carlin, who has written extensively on the relationship between South Africa, rugby, and Nelson Mandela. I'm not going to reiterate the entire article, but instead encourage you to read it yourself. It's an excellent read and touches on some crucial points.
Sport is intertwined with almost all aspects of society. Ask a Glasgow Rangers fan about the relationship between religion and sport or a Pittsburgh Steelers fan about the relationship between the economy and sport.
John Carlin's work is not groundbreaking or new, but it is interesting and worthwhile to provide sports fans, and students of cultural history, with another fine example of how sport reflects and effects the world around it.
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