No-show Boks disappoint fans at Heathrow
THE lesser-spotted Springbok was not to be seen at the arrivals hall at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2 yesterday.
Among the disappointed group of about 100 fans who gathered early yesterday to cheer on the Boks was little Connor Deacon, 4, from Surrey.
His Johannesburg-born dad, David, 41, had woken the young lad in the wee hours to trek to the airport to greet their heroes. Full of cheer on arrival at the airport, David brimmed with excitement and confidently declared that the Boks would win the World Cup.
But the elation gave way to the kind of deep disappointment only a four-year-old’s face can truly express.
“I’m upset,” said Connor, after airport officials informed waiting fans that the team would not be coming through the arrivals hall.
The five stages of grief played out at Terminal 2.
At first there was denial — “I would be surprised that they would not expect a few fans to be here for them,” said David. Then there was anger — “It’s really sh*t,” said one elegant lady. This was followed by bargaining — “Maybe they can come through for just five minutes and then get back on their bus?” said one fan to an airport official.
Soon, depression set in — “I’m very disappointed, I’m glad I did not wake up my eight-year-old daughter for this,” said Durbanborn Sean O’Farrell, 44, of Ealing. Finally, there was acceptance.
And the downcast fans slowly, reluctantly, left the arrivals hall carrying the pens they had just bought for autographs, one man carrying a pink shirt he had brought to get signed for his daughter, whose mother presciently put her foot down when he tried to wake their little girl to bring her to the airport.
The Boks had been whisked straight off the plane and on to a bus, which ferried them to a special VIP area before their journey to Brighton — where they’ll be based ahead of their opening match against Japan on Saturday.