Robben Island

During apartheid, South Africa's national rugby team the Springboks were a symbol of white oppression. Rugby was a white sport while soccer was the preferred sport of black South Africans. But in 1995, newly elected President Nelson Mandela changed that. During the Rugby World Cup finals which were held in Johannesburg, Mandela donned a Springboks jersey as he walked onto the field in front of 65,000 Afrikaners, many who still believed he was a terrorist. But soon the entire stadium was chanting the new president's name. Mandela felt that making South Africans of all colors Springbok fans was one of the first steps in healing the nation.

So it was fitting that 14 years later we would watch the same two teams battle for another trophy, this time the Tri-Nations Championship. Standing in front of the Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island watching the jumbotron at 9:00 am, the bar was filled with faces from the new South Africa. People of every color were pulling for the green and gold. Just like in 1995, the Springboks defeated the All Blacks in a thrilling match that went down to the last second.

From one former symbol of white oppression to another. After the game we headed to Robben Island, the political prison were Nelson Mandela, lovingly called Madiba by most South Africans, spent 18 of his 29 years in prison. Just like the Springboks, a past symbol of hate is now a memorial to the strength of the human spirit. Former prisoners give tours of the same cells that used to hold them. The tours are living history as the actors in the drama remind visitors from all over the world of their struggle for freedom.