This being the final of the CAF Confederation Cup the mission is to make the 40 000-seater Orlando Stadium as intimidating as possible for Etoile du Sahel because Stade Olympique de Sousse will be hostile the following weekend with 30 000 fans in red all rooting for the Tunisians.
With a continental club competition final not being a regular feature on the domestic football menu this is about time that The Ghost rises and makes its way to the stadium than just make noise from a distance.
It is guaranteed that on Saturday evening Pirates players will definitely perform better if upon their arrival at Orlando they notice fewer of those empty blue seats than the disturbing sight that usually greets for their home games at ‘Esigodini Sikamaminzela’.
Remember home support is important in such a two legged contest and the opponents need to really feel that they are playing away.
So may all The Buccaneers please stand up!
If it means frightening or irritating them from the stands by blowing the vuvuzela at full blast let it be because they will also make it scary with red smoke in the air and huge flags when they play host next week.
Why can’t Pirates fill up a 40 000-seater stadium for a continental cup final considering that they are a big club?
And if reaching the cup final of a continental club competition is still not enough to entice the hordes of Buccaneers who gladly walk around with that famous black and white ‘skipper’ then what more should their team do to convince them to be at Orlando Stadium in huge numbers for once?
This is the second biggest stage that a club can possibly reach in Africa and should be embraced and celebrated more than achieving anything on the domestic scene as it carries a lot more weight, prestige and pride than anything offered on the domestic scene.
For all the noise that the typical Pirates fan makes this is the time to be counted and show your team unconditional support because this is a stage far much bigger than the Soweto derby, bigger than any domestic league or cup match that has ever been played at Orlando.
Only that 2013 CAF Champions League Final against Al Ahly ranks dwarfs Saturday evening’s match at Orlando.
It should actually be acknowledged that a local club reaching the finals of both of CAF’s two club competitions within three years is a first in this country and when it happens it should be cherished. It has never happened before and there is no guarantee it will happen again anytime soon.
This is an encouragement for all Pirates fans to wear their black colours with pride as part of the #PaintOrlandoBlack crusade.
Domestic rivalry can also be temporarily put on hold with the Up the Bucs chorus being the voice of purpose needed in pushing Ezimnyama Ngenkani towards glory that will give the country recognition it so desperately needs in proving to the rest of the continent that it has clubs that are worth their financial status and beautiful stadiums.
Surely since rival local fans already walk to stadiums holding hands and then sit together in the stands, they might as well join forces with their domestic rivals just for the night. It will be nothing unusual.
Actually, this is not only an issue of national interest because the COSAFA region along with most of Sub-Saharan Africa will also be rooting for Pirates and hoping that this is not another trophy that heads back to the Arabs.
If Pirates manages to overcame Etoile this will only be the second time in the last decade that both of the CAF club trophies have found their way to Sub-Saharan Africa with Congolese TP Mazembe having won this year’s Champions League.
This is more like the rest of Africa versus the Arabic World.
Up the Bucs!