Where did they go to?

Where did they go to?

Football Made in Germany was a great sports programme of yore, the highlight of the prowess of Germany’s stars
Wrestling shows that included Raw and Smack Down left viewers entertained and made them identify with their heroes
Gillette World Sport, a sports magazine show, captivated both the young and the old in exploring sports and their science
Where did they go to?

In the 80s and early 90s, local television was full of free sports content that shaped and inspired a whole generation.

KBC, then known as Voice of Kenya, featured sports programmes like Gillette World Sport, Football Made in Germany and ooh, the ever-green wrestling, run by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
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Gillette World Sport, a sports magazine show, would run on the television from about 2 pm onwards, captivating both the young and the old.

The programme not only showcased sports like swimming or football but also went to great lengths to talk about the science behind such games in one of the most captivating manner to inquisitive minds.

In slow-motion, we saw how boxers threw punches with precision, how that kung fu and karate chops were executed in slow motion, how high-speed skating is done, bikes turning in the air, swimmers engaging in antics that shamed fish and weight-lifters lifting tonnes of kilos.

Looking back, I must agree that the show lived up to its slogan that it looks at sports “through a unique-focused lens”. Football Made in Germany, another great sports programme of yore, was a highlight of the prowess of the country’s stars in the game and what it took to develop them.

Names of German players including Kaiser, Klaus and Jürgen Klinsmann were on the lips of many Kenyans who religiously waited for the 5 pm show on the public broadcaster.

To say that ‘Football Made in Germany’ was much-loved in the country would be an understatement. The show was cherished and the players adored, and can only be compared to the current craze Kenyans have with the English Premier League.

To wrestling. It is perhaps one of the most intriguing and long-running sports shows to have ever aired on KBC until it was unceremoniously exited sometime after 2010 to the chagrin of fans.

Though scripted with a storyline of a soap opera, wrestling shows that included Raw and Smack Down did not only leave viewers entertained but also made them identify with the heroes.
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And they included Yokozuna, Big Daddy, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Bushwhackers, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, Andre the Giant, Rowdy Rowdy Piper, Macho Man and Ric Flair. We all had a favourite.

So huge were these wrestlers in the 1980s and 90s that no one would want to miss wrestling shows on Tuesday night and Sunday afternoon when KBC aired them.

I remember I would ensure the car battery that powered our Great wall TV (this was the only brand almost all of the few Kenyans who owned TV had) was fully charged so that we don’t miss anything. Ooh, the things we did for the love of the game.

One may wonder where these TV shows disappeared to. The answer is they still exist and remain hugely popular only that no local free-to-air TV channel is willing to invest in them because they could be too costly.

They now remain a preserve of the rich, who can afford to subscribe to pay TV channels on DStv, which airs them.

KBC, I guess, is reluctant to stand with the poor masses by acquiring rights to air these programmes, as it used to, due to financial challenges yet our national budget has doubled ten-fold.

Those who grew up then must be looking back with nostalgia at those good old days when we would watch the aforementioned programmes, and the World Cup and African Cup of Nations for free. That said, ‘For the love of the game’ salutes all TV stations that air sports content for free.