Argentina, Should keep his amateur spirit?

Rugby has become my job, my passion, my pastime, and my way of keeping fit. In its all-envelopedness, there are few things that make me genuinely smile. You know, one of those unpretentious, “good for them, they deserve it” smiles… and one of those things, is watching Argentina’s national rugby team in full flight.
When Argentina were about to kick off their Test match last weekend, I saw someone from Cape Town tweet their support for Wales, and I wondered why. Then I wondered why I was slightly affronted by the fact that she wasn’t backing Argentina. I mean, who wouldn’t? These are guys who still play for the love of the game. As the camera pans across the team during anthems, you’d be hard pressed to find a player whose eyes aren’t glistening with pride. The odd Argentinian rugby player bawling his eyes out, because he’s so goddamn thankful for the opportunity to represent his country, is not uncommon.
You’d be harder pressed to find this same sort of passion in any of the other top five tier-one teams. The players all talk a good game, about what an honour it is to play for their country, and there’s no reason not to believe them. But the Argies live and breathe this passion. Is it because they’re a rugby mad nation? Probably; but then again, so are many others. More likely, is the fact that they’re the last bastion of amateur rugby among the tier one nations. Professionalism has not yet soiled their ideals, and forced them into compromising grey areas, as far as the game is concerned.
Apart from the privileged few who play their trade as pro rugby players in France and elsewhere, the Pumas are a team comprised of 9-5ers, family men who take time out of their lives to commit to rugby. Accountants, plumbers, construction workers, salesmen, clerks – the only thing setting them apart from their countrymen, their ability to match their passion for the game with their physical gifts and talent. By playing with heart, these everymen have stopped giants in their tracks, and sometimes toppled them. And when they do, we smile.
Perhaps I’m being a bit too idealistic. Perhaps, it’s foolish of me to hold them to that standard. Naïve, perhaps, but as a club rugby man, it’s great to see this kind of unbridled passion for the game still existing at the highest level.
When Juan Imhoff rounded and outpaced Leigh Halfpenny to score a beautifully worked try – the result of the ball being spread from one side of the field to the other, passing through so many hands, offload after offload – I jumped up and yelped as if it were my very own Springboks who had scored. (I suppose with that kind of excitement sorely lacking in Bok games these days, it helps to look elsewhere.) This was promptly followed by another well-worked try, effectively burying the much more favored Six Nations champs, to the chagrin of experts, bookies and Welshmen everywhere.
The kicker here is that Argentina’s progress and competitiveness can be attributed to having more opportunities to play Tests throughout the year, with their inclusion in competitions like the Rugby Championship effectively steering them toward a professional environment… but the reason they’re doing so well, is that they’re still holding on to that endangered semblance of amateurism.
As it stands, they’re teetering on the edge of professionalism, but as long as they still play for the love of the game, I’ll be watching; and smiling. Vamos Los Pumas!

I agree; I support Argentina whole heartedly every time they play. I think it is that passion that comes across. Was delighted with the result last week, primarily because it came after six really good efforts that fell just short in the Rugby Championship. The win that is a long time coming is the sweetest win of all.