I was a 14-year old, sport-obsessed South African kid who didn't yet appreciate what Nelson Mandela meant when the 1995 Rugby World Cup came to SA. I watched it as though it was a mere sports event, blissfully unaware of the moral, political and human 'backstory miracle' that really characterized that rugby tournament. That story owed itself to Nelson Mandela's leadership and humanity, and I have since come to understand how he shaped the world in such a way that it is impossible, almost 20 years later, to even consider the alternative life we all may have had here in SA. Nelson Mandela was also a lover of sport. His famous quote on the power of sport - "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers" - typifies his understanding that sport is bigger than a game with winners and losers. We lived through exactly such change, hope and power. But the difference was not sport. It was Nelson Mandela life. And let's hope, his example becomes one that we all follow. RIP
