- A nonchalant announcement from the previous match advising fans that the player who broke his leg during the match was in stable condition and under the care of the experienced trainers. (Apparently this is a standard post-game announcement?)
- An introduction by Sharks’ mascot, Sharkie, who speaks only in the third person and provides concise impartial messages to the fans like “Any fan caught littering on the field will be removed from the field and from the premises forever” and:
- A provocative pre-game lap around the field by the official Sharks’ Flashers, who took advantage of every stop they made to cheer on the Sharks—with painted letters on their bikini-clad bodies:
- A rendition of the French national anthem during the first half of the game from fans. (It bears mentioning that our opponents were the Pumas from Mpumalanga Province, located well within South Africa and safely away from France.)The match was brutal and exciting, but our Sharks pulled it out to win 27-17! We were thankful for this, as we would have hated to leave the stadium with angry Sharks fans. But let it be known that if they had drawn blood, they’d find that we bleed the true colors of black and white Sharks fans.
