Stories of the Maracanã, Sabina and Ellis stadiums | # 181
Hi friends,
This Sunday India embarks on a quest to win its third World Cup against the mighty Australians. They will be aided in this quest by the presence of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modiji who will be a guest of honour during the game. And what’s more it will be in his own backyard - the Narendra Modi stadium. We wonder if we will see the scene of Narendra Modi being honoured with a Narendra Modi portrait at the Narendra Modi stadium?
This got us thinking about iconic sports venues and interesting stories behind them so this week’s edition focuses on a few theatres of dreams.
Things we learnt this week 🤓
The Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro has hosted 2 football World Cup finals. Though known universally as Maracanã, its official name is Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, one of the very stadiums to be named after journalists. In this age of fake news, we assure you that it is very much a true fact. Mário Filho advocated for a stadium among Rio’s poor and pushed for its location in the Maracana area, rather than the posher parts of Rio. After the death of Filho in 1966, the stadium was named in his honour. In 2021, after the demise of Pele, there was a proposal to rename the stadium as the Pele stadium. The government approval for that proposal is yet to come through. It's only been 2 years after all.
The Sabina Park in Jamaica has witnessed some brutal West Indian fast bowling in the past, but the ground’s name has a brutal history as well. Sabina Park, was a slave woman who killed her own 4 month old daughter. She did it because “she would not be plagued to raise the child…to work for white people.” Sabina Park felt that fewer the people to work for white people, the faster slavery would end. She was arrested, sentenced to death and buried in the same place that bears her name for perpetuity. Her name survived because the ordinary folk saw her as a leader who used an unusual methodology to undermine the system of slavery. Sabina Park's legacy reminds us that history's harshest blows aren't always delivered with a cricket ball.
One of the most powerful images of sport was Nelson Mandela wearing a Springbok jersey handing over the Rugby World Cup to Francois Pienaar in 1995. It was a moment that epitomised Mandela’s policy of reconciliation. For decades, the Springbok jersey was a symbol of apartheid. Black South Africans would root for the opposition in rugby matches. Nelson Mandela, the symbol of black suffering, who was locked up in jail for 27 years, wore a springbok jersey which represented the most remarkable political turnaround imaginable. The venue for the momentous occasion was the Ellis Park in Johannesburg. What is more interesting is that teams were fighting for the William Webb Ellis Cup. Ellis Cup was given away at Ellis Park.
From IWTK, with love 💌
Do you know the amazing backstory of the song ‘Made in India’? It was supposed to be sung by a Pakistani singer.
A TV show inspired a bindi! Know more here.
Only In India 🇮🇳
“Hey, I don’t have an extra helmet for you”
”No worries, I have a Kanti Sweets cover”
Stay hydrated,
❤️ IWTK