Wow! This blew me over. Got a communication this morning from a dad – a dyed-in-the-wool schoolboy rugby and cricket supporter.

His son played in last year’s PMB FA Cup – and, not unlike yours truly, before I first watched a KZN high school football match – it knocked him over with the force of a Draadkar de Lange stiff-arm…

“My word, those boys lived and loved their soccer – such passion and commitment.”

* Please note the dad and son in question are not from one of the schools that may come to mind. The images in this story are unrelated, and are purely for illustrative purposes.

“My son played serious rugby and cricket last year (and, like Jono, I suspect dad is far more rugby- and cricket-attuned through his own school experiences) so I had experienced that, but the soccer! … I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

“The 2017 PMB FA Cup soccer tournament was fabulous to watch.  And my word, those soccer matches were competitive!”

 

 

“In time, I hope the sport gets more exposure at KZN schoolboy level – and this comes from a rugby/cricket dad with zero soccer experience.”

I think this dad has touched on something that has been lurking in the back of my mind for some time – since its relatively recent (in comparison to other long-established KZN schoolboy sports codes) inception as an official school sport, the sleeping giant is now beginning to stir. And properly.

Watch this space.

But let’s get back to dad:

“And Jono, many thanks for all the work you put in for school sport – hugely appreciated by many out there.”

Phew. Feels like Christmas Day. Or I’ve been given a blank cheque in a sports shop.

Thanks, guys, for the hat-trick of compliments so far today – you know who you are.

Back to tomorrow’s (Friday) Day 1 of the freshly sponsored MTN Pietermaritzburg FA Cup – and I swear that I mean this – even if the Boks were playing the All Blacks in my local park just down the road, I’d rather be at Howick High School and the 2018 edition of the 40-team PMB FA Cup.

That is exactly how much this event has caught my imagination.

There, I said it.

Seriously.