Who is this Jumbo?

14 Dec, 2014 - 05:12 0 Views
Who is this Jumbo?

The Sunday News

MASCOTS at sporting events are not only a source of entertainment, they are also largely symbolic of greater realities around the sporting event they belong to.
They are a form of art, but what keeps them more interesting is that they are shrouded in a mist of secrecy that keep people speculating as to the identity of the individuals. Names, especially those of popular Bulawayo artistes have been suggested to try and uncover the Jumbo, who happens to be a marvel to watch for almost everyone at the games.

One conversation was heard speculating that Iyasa member, Future, was the man behind the mascot. Although most people know that he is not in the country, the adamant conversers hypothesised how he might be making a return.

Chitchat at the opening ceremony of the games also ended up with one avid man suggesting that Jumbo was Chronicle reporter Ricky Zililo. With eyebrows raised and mouths wide open, speculation continued among the patrons with some suggesting that Jumbo was one artiste with Umkhathi dance group.

Interestingly no one suggested Jumbo to be female.
Away from the names, truth is that Jumbo has managed to mesmerize fans of the mega sporting event with a number of both foreign and local fans taking pictures of the mascot.

With the African Union Sports Council Region 5 games coming to an end today, clearly much buzz has been around the Games’ mascot, Jumbo, who has been an inevitable crowd puller and entertainer.

At every venue Sunday Leisure went to, Jumbo captured the attention of both fans and the young athletes – literally becoming the centre of attention.

But who is the man behind Jumbo?
Surely he must be a great dancer and entertainer – Sunday Leisure hit a security wall in its quest to unmask who Jombo is as we were informed of formalities that were necessary before the revealing of the character behind the mask although it is widely believed that Jumbo belongs to one of the Bulawayo dance groups.

“It’s a bit difficult to do that at the moment because there are necessary security clearances that need to be done before who Jumbo is can be revealed to the public,” said Dave Simba, the Region Five Games media and publicity manager.

Surely this personality behind the mask must be somewhat heat-resistant as he has to contain all that scorching Bulawayo heat all day. He or she has to be very bubbly to maintain all that joy and exuberance which he has shown throughout the course of the past week and before.

“Jumbo had to tour all the 10 provinces of the country before being finally presented to the host province. It is required for every host country to have a mascot so as to promote the games and maintain the youthful bliss of such a competition.

“Relevant authorities chose the elephant – indlovu – because that is the symbol we see on the Bulawayo City Council emblem. It also carries the meaning of the gigantic stature of this city and indeed a warning shot to other teams about how Team Zimbabwe is a big deal. All I can say is that the man behind Jumbo is an artiste and he is from around town (Bulawayo),” said a source from the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture.

With the games coming to an end, it will be interesting to see what’s in store for the closing ceremony. Look out for the ever bubbly Jumbo!

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