Even the younger generation of today have heard of Neil Diamond; they may not know it but they have. Play the song ‘Sweet Caroline’ and everyone wants to join in with the refrain of “Ba Ba Ba”, followed by the line “Good times never seem so good” (so good, so good, so good)! Neil Diamond was also well-known for another popular song, sung in later years as a duet with Barbra Streisand,
with the title, “You don’t bring me flowers” which laments the end of a beautiful relationship which once gave so much pleasure and promised so much, symbolised by the flowers. It used to be so natural, so easy, so good.
There was an even older song, sung by Pete Seeger back in the late 1950s, with the title ‘Where have all the flowers gone’ which sang of how the flowers (a sign of love) were given to girls, who went out with men, who went to war, which led to their death which brought them flowers at their grave. Flowers portrayed and promised so much but they end up as nothing but a symbol of death.
Zimbabwe cricket has had its own Flowers, Andy and Grant, both of whom (along with many others) played with such distinction on the world stage for many years, yet well may we ask now, “Where have all (the likes of) the Flowers gone”? Where are all our world-class sportsmen and women now? Where are the players who took over from the Flowers? Where is the current crop of international sportsmen? Zimbabwe cricket used to have a place at the high table of international cricket; those times used to be so good, so good, so good! But now…?
If these songs provide a sad lament, they do also provide a strong lesson. There is, after all, in sporting terms, the old cliché that we are only as good as our last game. Our past successes no longer count; we cannot keep on living on former glories or taking them for granted. What happened two years ago, ten years ago, twenty years ago, is irrelevant. Our sporting used-to-bes do not count anymore. It used to be so natural, for sure; Zimbabwe turned out streams of quality sportspeople. Maybe we thought it would last forever but the reality is that it does not. We are only as good as our last game but equally we are only as good as our next one.
Just as the song goes, with regard to the good times, we have been inclined to believe that they never would be so good. The good times in sport never seemed so good. That is because, like the other song, “used-to-bes don’t count anymore”, what we achieved in sport in the old days, even yesterday, even in the most recent match, do not count anymore. It is what we do with the next match, the next day, our next task, which really counts. Like relationships which we want to last, we have to make them work. We cannot rely on memories, on the good times.
This is a powerful and crucial lesson for our children to learn. They are only as good as their last term. No-one puts on his CV that he played for the Under 13 Provincial soccer team; no-one proclaims in a job interview he was a Prefect at his Primary School. The same truth also applies to schools. A school is only as good as its last year. We cannot look back on previous years, on previous teams, on previous results, on former pupils, as a sign of our current value and worth. Such ‘flowers’ will only be those left on our graves. And the same applies to our country; we are only as good as the last election.
The message must be clear from all of this. Enjoy the good times while we can; make the most of the opportunities when they come. Build on them; do not rest on them. We cannot live in the past; we must forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal. We must reach out and touch the new.
They say “Diamonds are forever” but that is not true. Neil Diamond is not forever; he and Barbra Streisand (and this writer) are used-to-bes and “used-to-bes don’t count anymore”. It is the same with sport. Sure, in the spirit of the song, we learned how to lose and we learned how to win but
very soon, people say they do not need us; they do not sing us fan songs; they do not bring us winners anymore. Where have all our winners gone? Where have all our Flowers gone? When will we ever learn? Now! Now is the time for our children to learn these lessons. Otherwise it really will be goodbye.
