...................Continued from
The Robert Marawa Exclusive Part 1
Brown Shuga: The MAKE YOUR POINT guys in Laduma seem to have beef with you coz last week someone complained about you stealing their comments in the paper and using them on your show. Did you read that?
Robert Marawa: The letters to the editor? I've been dealing with a break-in at my place, I haven't read Laduma for the past 2 weeks.
BS: Break in? They broke into your house?
Marawa: Yeah, 2 weeks after I moved in
BS: Will you also be moving to Australia now?
Marawa: No, just moving back to an environment I was in for 7 years. I lived in a Estate/complex for 7 years and I even went to Germany for 42 days and nothing happened.
Now I decided for the first time to buy a free standing house in a suburban area and it turns out that was a big mistake so I am buggering off.
BS: Shame, maybe you must get married so there's always someone at home.
Marawa: Nah, they'll still tie the wife and kids up. Or maybe you should find a wife for me....
BS: UBabalwa?
Marawa: Continue with the interview sisi
BS: It's part of the interview!
Marawa: Your food is gonna get cold too...
BS: Ag maan Robert! Anyway, is there a specific PSL team that you support?
Marawa: I support Bafana Bafana and Liverpool.
BS: Why?
Marawa: Maybe it's because I know too much about the clubs, it's taken the fun away from that. The minute I got involved in what I do, I got to know more than what a spectator who blindly goes to the game to watch 11 guys against 11 so I don't support for those reasons.
I'll probably choose a team on the day of the match and attach myself to it for that day but generally, I don't support any team in the PSL.
BS: Would you ever consider working for either SAFA or the PSL later in life?
Marawa: I was offered a job at Sundowns and I turned it down.
BS: I remember that. Why though? Eish mara no Patrice just wants everyone to work for him.
Marawa: I made him understand that I”m a broadcaster so there is no animosity.
BS: Can I see what's under the cap?
Marawa: Why?
BS: Because I was listening to DJ Sbu the other day and he made a joke about your hair, saying big ups to the S-curl for longevity.
Marawa: Ag please man, what S-Curl? Maybe they were bored shame.
(He takes off his cap) Does this look like an S-curl?
BS: No it's not hehehe
Marawa: And it hasn't been on my head for the past few years.. They must have been bored shame.
BS: Hahahah clearly. So what do you think has sustained you and kept you relevant in the industry for so long?
Marawa: I'm only starting out man, this is a warm up.
BS: Phela ukhulele phambi kwethu Robert!
Marawa: I've only been around for 10 years.
BS: It is a long time
Marawa: If you take it as a career. I'll be very honest, some people get into the industry, not because they love sport or they love music, or they love fashion. They go into it because they want to gain other things, it's not about growing their careers.
That's why I said to you that when I read your stuff and saw how much effort you put into what you do on the website, I saw it as a sign of a person that says to the media world “
I can do things differently, get noticed and get ahead without people opening doors for me” and that's what I found to be interesting.
I find it very difficult when they ask me "How do you do it?” I mean, I walked from WITS to SABC for my first audition and I knew nobody. That's how I did it.
I just believe you can always differentiate between people who are in it for being on the DRUM cover or actually earning the right to be on the Cover and there is a big difference.
eish this picture kills me man!
BS: That is so true! What has been your most memorable interview?
Marawa: Umm...good or bad interviews?
BS: One of each maybe?
Marawa: I've had one interview with Irvin Khoza where he got angry and walked out and doors were slammed
BS: Heh? Where was I???
Marawa: That was during the firing of Shakes Mashaba.
Pleasant ones, was Mandela gracing me in the studio. It was a humble request from me and he agreed. It was really a WOW moment for me because it wasn't telephonic.
Despite the fact that we would meet at least once a year on average when he was president, I just felt that we had heard him as a politician but he was also a keen sportsman and sports lover so that platfrom just provided us with a chance to explore that.
So many interviews man, they were all exciting one way or the other and now there's a lot of anger and talkshows aren't just a platform where you come make a statement and tell your family that you're on radio.
BS: Do you think the show would do well if it was longer than the allocated hour?
Marawa: We put in a request 3 years ago. The station (Metro FM) feels that's the time we need.
BS: I think so too. You can never be boring with the hour that you have. If they give you more time you might just start relaxing & be boring.
Marawa: Not really hey
BS: Well, I don't wanna find out
Marawa: Okay.
BS: So what's your show on Supersport about?
Marawa: Okay, it's a straight forward, Monday night show at 20:00
BS: Oh, so it doesn't compete with SoccerZone.
Marawa: Well, they might change to 20:30 – 21:30 so that we can compete heheh.
BS: Does Walter do the other one?
Marawa: I'm on Supersport, I've never watched Soccerzone since I left so I don't know what happens on that show.
Monday night there's a show I do with highlights and looking back at the weekend. Tuesdays, if there are Champions Leagues matches, I do that.
Wednesdays I do
Ibhola Lethu, which is about local football matches at the stadium
BS: Yeah, I know that one....
Marawa: Thursdays, I do Engen Premier where we look back at the games the night before and look forward to the weekend.
Saturday & Sunday it's the live games so you tell me, where would a wife fit in all of that...
BS: Gosh, that's what I wanna ask !
Marawa: Yeah, 7 days a week, with radio and everything else in between.
BS: You're happy with that?
Marawa: It's what I wanted to do.
BS: So uBabalwa doesn't complain?
Marawa: I don't talk about other people in their absence
BS: Let's call her..
Marawa: Maybe her boyfriend will answer the phone
BS: So you're not dating?
Marawa: Who said we were dating?
BS: She was quoted in the paper saying "”there is nothing between us except a close friendship. But should he declare his inner feelings, I would complete his sentence and say "yes". What girl wouldn't want to be the woman in the life of such a guy”
Marawa: Well, there's your quote...
(Okay, I really didn't know how to handle this ....)
BS: Heheheh okay you aren't playing nice! So you don't miss SABC at all? Even the craziness?
Marawa: I don't have a problem with SABC or the people there...SABC Sport provided me with a platform, there's no way I'm ever gonna talk badly about them. The people ask me about what happened, I'll tell them but like I said there's too much, so many things were said.
BS: If you were to be asked to coach Bafana for one day, which players would you have in your squad?
Marawa: I'll sms the names to you, let's save your battery.
BS: Oh cool!
(He later sends the sms....)
MARAWA's 2010 Eleven
| 1 |
Itumeleng Khune |
| 2 |
Bryce Moon |
| 3 |
Tshepo Masilela |
| 4 |
Aaron Mokoena |
| 5 |
Bongani Khumalo |
| 6 |
Kagisho Dikgacoi |
| 7 |
Tsholofelo Modise |
| 8 |
Steven Pienaar |
| 9 |
Elrion van Heerden |
| 10 |
A striker yet to be born |
| 11 |
Benni McCarthy |
BS: What has been the highlight of your career?
Marawa: Being at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Being at the World Cup in 1998, They are all Sporting highlights.
I won't give up what I do until I've interviewed Tiger Woods, Michael Jordaan and one of the Williams sisters.
BS: Why?
Marawa: In the broader context of things, these are not your “pick up the phone and you get them" kinda people.
BS: What would you ask Tiger? I would ask him why he married a white woman....
Marawa: I would just ask him WHY? And that would affect everything else, the success, the family, the focus, I would just ask him why.
He's an incredible human being and an achiever. People don't realize that at his age, he's won 14 majors already.
BS: What I like about you is that you are not just about soccer but you know all about the other sporting codes as well.
Marawa: When you love sports, you can't just love soccer. I played rugby with Bobby Skinstad at school. I played basketball at Natal Midlands, I played soccer as well obviously now ngomsebenzi siphush'umkhaba more than ama6 pack.
BS: Hahahah So what do you when you aren't working?
Marawa: When is that?
BS: Well, you aren't working tonight. What are you gonna do when you get home?
Marawa: I don't have a home yet remember?
BS: Isn't Babalwa hosting you, what are you gonna do when you get to her house ke...
Marawa: She's your friend, why don't you ask her?
BS: Not really. And besides, I'm interviewing you mos. So are you and Babalwa still kicking it?
My recording device started perfoming here so I can't give you what he said word by word but here's a summary....
Robert says that he was the first person Babalwa met when she first got to Jozi (around 1992, I think) and they've been friends since then. He took her to the first ever soccer game she went to and Babalwa had fun there, got hooked and did all the work she did in soccer.
There was a time when they lost contact, Babalwa was doing her thing & almost got married at some point, he was doing his thing and they met up again last year
(if I remember correctly) and they started spending more and more time together. It wasn't like they were planning to get married or anything.
He says that Babalwa has a boyfriend now and he on the other hand is too busy with his job and is not dating anyone.
(what a waste...)Whether or not we believe him is something else....
Personally, I don't care who Robert is dating, as long as he keeps doing his job, my support and admiration will continue.
After the Babalwa bit we continued talking about the industry in general and Robert had a lot of great advice on what he thought I needed to do for my growth.
Thank you Mr Marawa for giving me a beautiful interview. I wish you everything of the best in your career ( & love life) and I hope you will continue with the good work that you are doing. You truly inspire me.
The End