It was a mad weekend for me. I was a bunch of nerves since
Friday all through to Sunday evening.
As our athletes Sally, Vivian and Prisca took to the 10,000m
race tracks in the Olympics being held in London on Friday night, I was there
with them. Via Television but still, I was there. When they were requested to
take their mark, get set and go, I took the orders with them. When Dibaba and
her team began to rain on our parade, I stayed positive. Hoping for the best. Cheering
them on. My heart raced in tandem with their well-trained feet and, I am sure,
hearts. I craved for medals. I yearned
for the sweet melody of our National Anthem resounding in that stadium miles
away for the multitudes to hear and recognize Team Kenya!
I refused to despair
when we had to contend with second place. Dibaba was good, but it did not
change the fact that our representatives gave their best. They carried our
flag.
I was nervous all right. Come Sunday Night, my adrenaline was
on an all time high when Big Brother Africa aired the show’s Grand Finale and
evicted the finalists one by agonizing one. Naturally, I rooted for Prezzo because
he held the Kenyan flag. He even said it himself, that he wanted to win to make
Kenya proud. He flaunted code 254 every chance he got, the only housemate to
have had a jersey and a mug adorned with the colors of our flag. That was
enough reason to have me voting for him. Like everyone else, Prezzo came with
his flaws. I called him an asshole under my breath when he got intoxicated and unnecessarily
argued with South Africa’s Barbz. I rolled my eyes when he lashed at DKB bragging
that he lived in a mansion, had taken a bullet and was not afraid of no one. I
was dumbfounded when he wielded an empty bottle at Wati and Keagan threatening
to ‘put them in their place’
But that did not deter me from voting for him. For doing
this, I and other Kenyans of my ilk got insulted by a blogger who believes they
hold the most revered opinion in the land. Woe unto you should you disagree with
them! We were called ‘spineless bitches’ for voting for someone they did not
like. While defending their right to an opinion, they trampled on others’
opinion asking why we were voting for Prezzo who “…had more mood swings than a class full of women”
Don’t ask me where women and mood swings come in because I am
still trying to find the connection.
An insult to women and an insult to Kenyans for defending
their own - warts and all. Using their
own words, “Who DIED and made your HYPE
the end point for all competitions?”
What followed on twitter after Prezzo was announced first
runners-up was a sad series of tweets on why we are all shallow for supporting
him and for daring to think that he could win.How dare we dream of a victory?
It was sad seeing such juvenile reaction akin to a toddler jumping up and down
in excitement for getting a lollipop. I kept asking myself what the celebration
was for; Kenya’s lose? A laugh at yourself?
Sadly, there are some ailments that only advancement in age
and subsequent maturity can cure. All we can do as the Kenyan fraternity is sit
back and patiently wait for such individuals to advance from using the feeding
bottle to using the Sippy cup.
Amidst all the madness though, Ezekiel Kemboi sprinted to
the finish line with the Kenyan flag and his trademark jig to boot. Now what
better way to end an adrenaline-packed weekend?
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