Sir Alex Ferguson and Des Tutu

Do I have to spell it out?

You would have been proud of me, Dear Reader.

My left brain was kvetching and boiling with guilt about not posting the minimum recommended once weekly blog, right brain countered that followers already deluged with blogs, tweets and e-nuggets of questionable import had earned time out. So I posted nothing.

I scoured the golf news channels and found nothing illuminating, informative or even cheering. The law, education, music, ICT and any other business sectors in which I operate similarly offered nought. So I wrote nothing. (You can thank me later.) But you see, the social experts branding bible clearly states that you must blog/tweet/post always and about everything.

I had to go right off piste to find anything inspirational, and then I found two things – both from estates in which I have no interest whatsoever: football and the Anglican church.

Sir Alex Ferguson retired after nearly 27 years at Manchester United. When Ferguson took over, they had not won the league title for nearly 20 years . Again, football has always bored me but this is a man of towering achievements. Since his appointment on November 6th 1986 these include 13 league titles in 21 years, won the Premier League (10 times), the FA Cup (5 times), the League Cup twice, the FA Charity/Community Shield (8 times), the UEFA Champions League twice, UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup once each, became the Football Association (FA) Premier League Manager of the Year, 8 times (1993-94, 1995-97, 1998-2000, 2002-03, 2006-08). In 1996, he received the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Tribute Award for his success with MUFC. By winning the FA Premier League Manager of the Month, 21 times, Sir Alex Ferguson became the only manager in the history of English football to have accomplished such a feat. He received the League Managers Association (LMA) Manager of the Year in 1998-99, 2007-08 and the LMA Manager of the Decade for the 1990s. When MUFC walked away with the UEFA Champions League in 1998-99, the coach of the team, Sir Alex Ferguson was awarded the UEFA Champions League Manager of the Year for that season. This is just a small sample of his achievements. And by the way, Real Madrid have had 21 managers in the time Ferguson has been at Old Trafford.

Now, football might not be your thing, but can you think of anybody with a comparable record in banking, politics, show business, policing, religion, industry, golf, medicine… No. Just acknowledging Ferguson’s presence over the last quarter century leads to happiness, respect, aspiration and inspiration.

Then, up popped Des Tutu! For many years he just irritated me, but his work with the TRC and his voice of moderation and tolerance has made him very high up in my affection over the years.

He wrote in a piece for Prospect magazine, which was carried by the Mail&Guardian: “I have voted for the ANC, but I would very sadly not be able to vote for them after the way things have gone. They were a good freedom-fighting unit. But it doesn’t seem to me now that a freedom-fighting unit can easily make the transition to becoming a political party.”

He went on to say that although the country had the capacity to be one of the most vibrant countries in the world, it had the most unequal society in the world. In his opinion, the first thing the next elected Parliament had to do was to change the electoral system so one was elected on the basis of the constituency, and would be accountable to the electorate.

“Those in Parliament are accountable to their party first rather than the electorate. We can’t hold our heads up with pride when you think of the levels of violence in our country.”

He wrote that South Africans were “amazing”. They had been committed to freedom during the political struggle, and had been ready to lay down their lives, but that now there are so many instances of corruption and unaccountability.

“Seeing how standards have dropped is so galling, because it seems to give ammunition to those who would say: ‘we warned you that once you had a black majority government you would see a steady decline in standards’.”

Ferguson’s record surprised me in how much it resonated with me, given my lack of interest in the sport, as I said previously. Somebody, somewhere is capable of success and getting things right.
Tutu, meanwhile, says what a lot of ex-pat South Africans fear or feel with credibility, authority and compassion. Because of who he is, there is hope he can bring about change.

If we, in the golf business, waited for uplifting news from within our industry alone we’d be disappointed. But I found these nibs from footie and a right-footer really lifted my mood.

In my heart, I honestly believe most bloggers and tweeters have nothing to share, other than their own vanity and misguided sense of thought leadership. If one has nothing to share that enriches or adds value to the day, keep quiet.