A dozen reasons to celebrate Tau’s academic success

● Why is it such a big deal that a soccer star has completed a BCom degree?

While many have congratulated Percy Muzi Tau for tweeting “I’m very proud to have completed my degree. I know mama is very excited and can’t wait for my graduations #BCom”, some questioned the rationale behind making a song and dance of this bit of news.

There are a dozen reasons to doff the cap for young Tau.

Those conversant with how committed he is to furthering his education will recall the struggle he endured to reach this goal.

During the course of the Mamelodi Sundowns campaign in the 2016 Confederation of African Football Champions League, Tau took to his books like a duck to water.

His insatiable appetite for knowledge saw him study in aeroplanes and buses.

While his teammates were twiddling their thumbs as the team waited to connect at airport terminals, Tau used the time wisely to catch up on his work.

Many could have fallen off the bandwagon upon failing to strike a balance between balls and books. He stayed in the saddle.

The boy is a successful footballer whose growth chart is on a steady ascendency accentuated by how prominent he has become in the national team.

Moving from Sundowns to Witbank Spurs on loan would have been deemed as a demotion by some.

But Tau, who has a good head on his shoulders, used it as an opportunity to sharpen his skills in an environment with less pressure in the National First Division.

He was better when he returned and collected Premier Soccer League, Champions League, Super Cup, Nedbank and Telkom Knockout gold medals.

Brighton & Hove Albion came knocking with a record transfer deal.

Falling short of work-permit requirements delayed his dream of plying his trade in the English Premier League, forcing him to take a detour to Belgium.

All who appreciate him are in agreement that he is a big fish in a small pond in the Belgian second division where he is blazing the trail for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

On the field, he is an exemplary sportsman.

Off the field, he is a shining embodiment of tenacity, the kind of example we have to hold up to millions of young, gifted and black children who are drowning in a cesspit of despair.

In him they should see that absolutely nothing beats discipline, dedication and determination; that no matter how dire they may deem their circumstances to be, it is possible to pull themselves up by the bootstraps and turn their dreams into reality.

Burning the midnight oil while burying your head in the books must be more fashionable than burning holes in your pocket impressing people who will desert you at the drop of a hat without batting an eyelid when all the fame and fortune disappears. Tau is one au fait with the fact that education broadens one’s horizons.

Of course there are many educated fools in our midst, as much as there are many footballers who have matric or finished high school.

The likes of Harold Ndlovu, the Polokwane City goalkeeper who recently graduated with a Bachelor of Information Studies, deserves plaudits too.

The biggest fear of any professional sportsperson when the final whistle blows is what the hell do you do?

Becoming a pundit is the popular thing these days but even there, there is space for only so many. Tau will have better options thanks to his BCom degree. That is a big deal. Celebrating that is better than the gnawing of teeth that accompanies those who die dirt poor after football has died.

Absolutely nothing beats discipline, dedication and determination