There weren?t any old South African flags flying when the Springboks beat the All Blacks in ?95. Since then our teams have lost some of their shine, and the flags have been creeping back like some kind of cancer.
Some match authorities have even banned the oranje, blanje, blou, but there always seems to be at least one person, or mob – through ignorance or belligerence – who seem bent on unfurling the notorious symbol of oppression.
At the cricket match against Australia at the Supersport Centurion stadium on Sunday (in the suburb formerly known as Verwoerdburg), one young man stood swaying patiently in the long beer queue wearing a grimy cap emblazoned with the old flag?s colours. No-one spoke to him, but then again, no-one else had an old flag tacked to the back of their deck chair.
It?s another matter at the Loftus Versfeld sports ground in Pretoria, where gangs of drunk men have regularly attended rugby matches with old flags – and have been known to sling racist remarks at players and referees of colour.
According to Ellis Lombard, CEO of the Supersport Centurion cricket ground, fans at the stadium are prohibited from displaying the old flag because ?it belongs to apartheid and history?.
?In the new South Africa people have to show support?? she said.
Lombard said although there were still people who insisted on bringing the old flag to cricket matches, they would, in future, be evicted or the flag will be confiscated.
Bronwyn Wilkinson, United Cricket Board representative said the board does not have a formal policy on the old flag but tried to discourage its use.
?We ask fans to remove them, obviously because it?s offensive to other people,? she said.
Wilkinson said the UCB encouraged fans to use the new flag, but ?we can?t force them.?
?It hasn?t been banned by government or anything,? she said.
Leon Wessells, a commissioner at the SA Human Rights Commission in Johannesburg said while it was not a crime to display the old SA flag, it showed: ?an outdated, out-of-touch attitude.?
?It?s not a criminal offence. I don?t think it should be. It?s freedom of expression,? said Wessells.
Scotch Tagwereyi, representative for the Freedom of Expression Institute in Johannesburg: ?not only does it show ignorance but it shows a lack of respect for human rights and democracy. Displaying a flag of a government that conflicts with the current one shows lack of respect.?
A clerk at Flag World in Sandton said they had plenty of old SA flags, ranging from a desk version (R102) to fully-fledged flagpole size (R256,50).
The clerk, who preferred to remain anonymous, said most of the people who bought the flags were ?foreigners? who ?had lived here before?.
?I suppose they want to put it on a flagpole. Not all South Africans accept the new flag – we?re all different?.