The 16th Man Reflection

B. Blog reflection assignment—construct a well formulated reflection about “The 16th Man” and the following Nelson Mandela quote:

“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 governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”

• Learner Profile Traits:

Justice Bekebeke exhibited the learner profile trait of caring by doing what he thought was the right thing for others. Mandela exhibited the trait of caring as well, because he forgave everyone who imprisoned him.

• Ways of Knowing:

In terms of the Mandela said that sport “speaks to youth in a language they understand”. He used language to convince people that the game of rugby really can “create hope, where there was only despair.” In terms of sense perception, I feel as though playing the rugby match in the rain may have acted, although they didn’t know it, as a kind of baptism- a kind of new life for everyone. These are a few ways of knowing that are used in The 16th Man.

• Areas of Knowing:

I suppose that sport has the capacity to be considered a human science. I think that, anthropologically, the very culture of sport has the power to unite a group of people into a kind of mob mentality. For example, during the Super Bowl, people who don’t even know the football teams that are playing will get together and celebrate each other’s company with “Super Bowl Parties”. They’ll all eat buffalo wings and cheer for whichever team they think is going to win. I think that having a common enemy (the other team) can really motivate a group of people to band together. Most of the time in history, though, this has turned out to be very bad. However, here, they didn’t have a common enemy - they just had a common goal.