Invisible dogs, visible pride: World Cup victory unleashes national spirit

Most readers know it by now: little Egg loves dogs.

Besides Rocky, the family miniature pinscher, she has four invisible canines. There’s Browny the daschund, Buddy the golden retriever, Vanilla, a cream-coloured mutt and Brutus the German sheperd.

Every morning when I take her to school, it’s quite a job getting the dog of the day in the car.

When we stop at the bridge, she puts her invisible dog on an invisible leash, and walks him over the highway. And in the afternoons, when I pick her up from aftercare, we have to remember Browny or Buddy or whoever went to school with her that day.

“I’m not taking Brutus to the supermarket again,” I said at dinner this week. “He can’t behave. This afternoon, he demolished a bag of cheese curls. I won’t be able to show my face there again!”

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“Are you two still going on about those imaginary dogs?” the lovely Snapdragon asked, clearly irritated.

Egg jumped up. “They’re not imaginary! They are very real! Just because you can’t see them, doesn’t mean they don’t exist!”

“I don’t care,” Snapdragon said. “I don’t want to hear this lunacy any longer.”

“All right,” I said. “I’ll ask Sonja at work if she wants them. She lives on a plot and she loves dogs…” I stopped my sentence right there, because Snapdragon growled at me. Very visibly.

“You have to tell her that raising an invisible dog is a huge responsibility,” Egg continued. “There’s all the invisible dog food and all the attention they need…”

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Last week, I went to OR Tambo International Airport to see the Springboks when they returned.

The excitement was overwhelming. Yes, you won’t be able to see any difference their Rugby World Cup victory makes to the lives of ordinary South Africans, but we needed this success.

The 2023 World Cup is one of South Africa’s greatest invisible dogs ever – right up there with 1994’s election. But, like any invisible dog, it’s a huge responsibility. We have to utilise our newly found pride and improve our own country. Sport victories won’t do it.

But our pride, our new sense of achievement, is very real. We, as a nation, are basking in the glory of that achievement and I pity any fool who can’t see the glory surrounding this great series of victories.

With apology to Hemingway, the road to hell is paved with unappreciated invisible dogs.

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