Will he leave the arena full of elegance and grandeur like the very first “Tiger of Fass”, Mbaye Guèye? Or will he retire ingloriously, constrained and forced by circumstances? The arena is asking these questions and more, since a withdrawal full of panache and folklore, like the second “Tiger of Fass”, Moustapha Guèye, is no longer relevant.
For good reason, Gris Bordeaux pitifully recorded its twelfth loss the other Sunday, against Zarco. The “third Tiger” lived up to its title too badly and did not do justice to its predecessors, the standard-bearers of the famous Dakar district. The first on the list had been elevated to this rank, in these very columns, at the end of the 1960s, by the late journalist Yamar Diop, captivated as much by the technique as by the courage and temerity of the wrestler. Seriously manhandled and damaged by Sa Ndiambour, Mbaye Guèye refused to give up and was resilient enough to win. “A title was born in Fass,” the dean wrote.
The saga was launched. With dazzling successes from this wrestler, not big in size, but tough as hell. But also some setbacks including the knockout suffered against Mouhamed Aly in January 1985 for a failed comeback after having made his jubilee and meanwhile won another victory. One fight too many! Mbaye Guèye himself was convinced of this. Since returning home, he had taken off his famous “sabadoor” and had announced to his followers that the outfit would henceforth return to the one among them who considered themselves worthy of it. An immense challenge that his younger brother took up immediately. Tapha Guèye thus became the “2nd Tiger of Fass”. A rank that he honored perfectly, adding his experience and his Greco-Roman wrestling technique to his combativeness and his striking force. All seasoned with his slogan “I attack, I hit and I win”.
-His resounding successes against opponents of all sizes have built his legend. To the point that he was able to afford a colorful jubilee in two acts: first in Dakar in August 2010 and then in Paris in October of the same year. It was precisely during the first act, at the Demba Diop stadium, at the heart of the celebrations on the sidelines of the Khadim Ndiaye – Bruce Lee clash of the day, that he himself inducted Gris Bordeaux. More than 14 years later, the “3rd Tiger of Fass” clearly has great difficulty justifying this choice, which was then highly contested even within the ranks of the famous Dakar wrestling team. No victory since 2015 and his success over Tyson! Fass is right to be worried, the Senegalese arena as a whole is justified in asking questions. Since this team has greatly contributed to giving its credentials to this “local sport” and can even be considered a national heritage.
So, obviously the debate is fascinating and passionate. And the famous formula of the Nigerian writer and playwright Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1986, who at the height of the controversy with LS Senghor, champion of Négritude, had replied “A tiger does not proclaim its own” is back in fashion. tigritude.” He jumps.” And bites his opponents, we might add. In the current gloom, Fass would do better not to… choose a 4th tiger and leave the title vacant, while all those who dream of inheriting the heavy load toughen up and prove themselves. Since, designating one could have the same inhibiting effects on the chosen one as on Gray, as it is true that the famous “sabadoor” does not suit everyone. Wanting therefore to “put aside the title of Tiger of Fass and aim for that of King of the arenas”, as one of the members of the stable suggested, could at best be nothing more than simple boasting.
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