A pretty good case can be made for South Africa representing the epicenter of the sporting universe right now. The country and the world are gearing up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and while Bafana Bafana just lost rather unceremoniously to Peru, South Africa’s national team had been riding a five-game winning streak, giving hope that the hosts will not flame out egregiously next year. Meanwhile the Proteas, South Africa’s national cricketers, are set to host an Australian national squad they embarrassed on the Aussies home pitches in 2008 with the world number one ranking at stake. Although last year did not go as well as Springbok fans had hoped, given the country’s rather lofty expectations, the national rugby team still claim the title of world champions after their victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. South Africa will even be one of the sixteen teams competing in this year’s World Baseball Classic, just as its national team did in the inaugural WBC in 2006.
