The Sunday Mail
18-area.coms with Mako Gold
WE started the year with a helluva of a storm, lashing at the Warriors and calling them mercenaries after snubbing an AFCON send-off dinner that had then Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the guest of honour.
Steroids of vitriol came our way but we stood firm, strengthened by the knowledge that on these esteemed pages we follow the flag, wash it even. It was the same the other year when we had that “war” with Wicknell Chivayo!
And we are ending 2017 with a storm somewhat, the usual writer of this column Sir causing pandemonium after giving Ocean Mushure a thorough hair drier treatment a fortnight ago.
The reaction to the Shut Your Smelly Mouth Ocean installment was volcanic but away from the public limelight Sir and Mushure found each other.
As Lloyd Mutasa told us last week emotions ran high! Unlike Jose Mourinho who leaves us Red Devil fans guessing what he really is up to at our beloved Manchester United I felt the need to drop by this final Sunday of the year to bring you our valued readers up to speed.
It’s a once off! I know others in my position have regular columns but my belief is that my voice is yet to carry the weight needed to be placed on a column.
In the United Methodist Church there is a saying that says Mwari ari mubatsiri, God being the helper and one is schooled to appreciate that there is a higher power that confirms the plans of man.
That probably informs why Hymn 37 is the church’s most popular song. And in true UMC style allow me to say one day I will author a column, God being the Helper. In the meantime am happy to rant and rave on Facebook!
This missive is to say thank you for the love you showed us in 2017, a brief insight into what we are doing, what we intend to do and some unpacking of the people whose names you see on these pages every weekend.
Is Sir coming back? I don’t know, the boss we nickname Steve Jobs probably does. Suffice to say Sir’s position is the same as Alexis Sanchez’s tale at Arsenal, same as Khama Billiat’s story at Mamelodi Sundowns.
Everything is subject to negotiation. I don’t know whether to call Sir him or her because as far as I know the author of that column is a spirit.
The spirit rests on anyone and for that particular Sunday the person in question is known as Sir, whether male or female. You cannot even begin to imagine some of the people who have contributed to the hard hitting column over the past months.
Players, coaches, medics and administrators have all let off some steam while possessed by the spirit. I know some toes have been stepped on by Sir and as the Sports Editor I have had to pay the price for it.
It’s a price I gladly pay because Sir, in as much as I don’t agree with some of his/her opinions, has been a game changer. It was a gamble, a plunge into the unknown, when we decided to go this route but we feel vindicated.
We started with DeMbare Dotcoms founder VaShagare but the old man pulled out along the way. We turned to Sir but up to this day there are some who still believe that Shagare is the hand behind the column.
Farai Jere still insists on calling me Va Shagare as does Northern Region chairman Willard Manyengavana.
Apart from who Sir is I often get to be asked questions about which teams members of our sports desk support.
Langton Nyakwenda looks Dynamos from a distance but the more you get to know him is the more you get confused. We call him Langers and my conclusion is that he is a football person. The Deputy Sports Editor Tinashe Kusema is a guy we call dude.
That should give you an idea of the kind of sports he loves. Football wise he claimed to support Harare City this year and is almost certain to choose another team next year. Dude does that always! Epoupa is the name we use when referring to Don Makanyanga.
Not that he is a Dynamos guy but there is some rhyme between his surname and the Nyakanyaka nickname given to Christian Epoupa by DeMbare fans.
Brighton Zhawi is Xavi and he has his heart in cricket but can best be described as our utility man. This year he wanted Chicken Inn to win the title. Meanwhile, as we head into 2018 we raise our heads and see no one ahead of us in terms of sports reporting.
It might mean two things. One the other papers are so far ahead of us or, two and most likely the case, we are ahead of everyone else.
But we won’t be singing our praises, we will just continue to have all hands on the pump, striving to live up to the standards set by the likes of my biggest inspiration the late Tinaye Garande, Sam Mawokomatanda and Goodwill Zunidza among other legends to have done their thing on these pages.
It’s never easy to fill these massive boots but with God being the Helper we are confident and excited as the New Year comes along.
Hope you will stay with us.
Gold is the only standard.
There goes Mako Gold!
Makomborero Mutimukulu is the Sports Editor of The Sunday Mail and can be contacted @makogold07 or his Facebook page Makomborero Gold Mutimukulu. WhatsApp number 0774 873 520.
