Looking forward to the movie "Invictus"

I have not been more excited about a movie in a long time.

Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman in "Invictus," the movie about a game far more important than the one in "Miracle." It’s directed by Clint Eastwood, and the soundtrack is exquisite,

It’s South Africa 1995, and the divided country, with Nelson Mandela (Freeman) as its new president, is hosting the World Cup championships. Rugby was always a white sport in South Africa, and in fact, the Springboks were banned from international competition for a long time.

But as a reward for ending apartheid, the country was awarded the World Cup. The team, however, was not world-class at the time.

Mandela, shrewd politician that he was, realized the Blacks in his country cheered against South Africa and for the opposition, so he decided to bring the country together and try to win the Cup. So he got together with  captain Francois Pienaar (Damon) and put things into motion. There’s an excellent book on the topic, which I picked up, but never really got around to reading.

(What’s really odd right now is that the draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup is today, and the tournament is in South Africa. Mandela is on stage again).

So there’s a scene in the preview where Mandela and an aide are looking at a poster of the draw for the rugby tournament.

Aide: “According to the experts, we will reach the quarterfinal and no farther.”

Mandela: “According to the experts, you and I should still be in jail.”

OK, gonna be a great movie. A heart-lifter I think.

But I could not help but think about Mandela in the South African locker room saying:

“I’m sick and tired of hearing what a great team New Zealand has. Screw ‘em. Their time is over! This is our time!”