Highlanders- Bosso F.C more than a football team

 

 

 

I have been around the globe a bit to come to this conclusion that, unless you have a seen a soccer fan. You have never seen a real fan. Growing up in the city of Bulawayo in Southern Zimbabwe in the mid eighties and nineties, I witnessed what real die hard soccer lovers and footballs faithfuls can do. In this case I am not just talking about any regular fans, I mean hundreds of  thousands of  Highlanders FC  followers.

I would not be fair to talk about crazy Highlanders Bosso fans around the city of Bulawayo, if I do not mention what I saw happening in my own home growing up as a little boy. The biggest culprit is my own father. Believe it or not! I am pretty sure Bosso is his second religion. My earliest memories take me to my dad coming home talking loud to himself.  I  could hear him singing loudly as soon as he parked his vintage blue and green Vauxhall sedan outside. For a while I began to think that my father was drunk. I later understood that he was under the influence of Bosso frenzy. He would sing song like "Thuza ubaba edlule ethenge isikali" By now I think you know why I thought  he was drunk. My  elder  step brothers were big fans too.

I was a fan like everybody else but the disappointment of not being able to see the team all the time kind of dampened my zeal. As young boys in the Luveve area, we had the privileged of free transport whenever the team played in Luveve Stadium. Even if we did not have money we could try all the tricks until  the gate keepers allowed us in.  Most definitely they allowed us all after half time. Just to see the team colors was enough. If you happened to have money that day, you were a king. I believe it was 25 cents at the gate around 1985-86 for kids. The mood of the city kind of revolved around Highlander's performance. So did the mood in our house. My father a very nice and kind man, would be very tough whenever Bosso lost a match. He would do this that he did not usually do. Things like checking our school books one by one, exercise by exercise.You knew something would come up. At times he would  just go to bed early without cracking jokes as he traditionally did in evenings.

 What  was happening in our family was not exclusive. Bosso is a religion in Bulawayo period. I still remember, how one had to wake up early in the morning to get the newspaper if Highlanders won the previous day. The paper would sell like hot buns. If you happen to be a little late you will find the  vendor already left his spot at the bus terminus. At school, some teachers were harsh whenever the team lost. Severe punishment was administered to unlucky pupils that Monday.


To be continued!

The Club  and the cultural impact!