The highlight of this summer for most people around the world has been the World Cup including Phoenix Suns point guard, Steve Nash. Steve Nash traveled to South Africa to watch some of the games. He was originally born in South Africa where his father played soccer. Both of his parents are from England, but he spent his childhood growing up in Canada.
Steve Nash loves the game of basketball, but he also spends much of his time playing soccer. As a kid, he started off playing soccer. In middle school, he switched over to basketball because that is what his friends played. Nash is a better basketball player, but he likes both sports equally. He even says soccer has helped him become a much better basketball athlete.
When he went back to South Africa, he got the chance to interact with fans and players, but more important, he received the opportunity of a lifetime to stay in one of South Africa's biggest townships and play soccer with the kids there. The name of the town is Soweto. This is the same place where Nelson Mandela spend a lot of his time during the apartheid.
What is a township? A township is a piece of land set apart for the black South Africans where they could separate themselves from the whites during the times of the apartheid.
After Nash's exit from the NBA playoffs, his focus was on the World Cup and soccer. The evening in Soweto was one of Nash's most memorable experiences as he played soccer with the children and got to see what life was like for so many in South Africa.
The people in South Africa do not have much. The soccer ball the children were using was a flat basketball. Nash went to South Africa to film his experiences in order to share them with the people in the states. The films are a great way to put life into perspective. So many times Americans are trapped within the United States, and do not see what life is really like beyond the country.
The films of Steve Nash's journey to South Africa can be seen on youtube. These films can really help Americans understand what is going on outside of the United States as well as what is happening inside the country.
The children of South Africa have hopes and dreams just like everybody else. The World Cup in South Africa this year has brought countries closer together to play a worldwide game to show that anything is possible and to help show the history and life of South Africa.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYWz1OPWQ1c&feature=player_embedded
Steve Nash's memorable evening in Soweto
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