| Simon Smiles from the Commentary Booth |
| Wednesday, 10 December 2008 11:05 |
|
simon-lyonga
Clinched jealously to his
radio set, little Simon would habitually drown himself in exciting play-by-play
football commentaries run by his idol, Zackary Nkwo on Radio Cameroon. Whether or not Cameroon
were leading did not matter much to him. His concern was the infinite pleasure,
derived from listening to the ace commentator. “It were as if one was listening
to some melodious tune,” a fan had said of Zackary Nkwo’s commentaries.
Simon Lyonga Wa Molombe (meaning “son of Molombe”) was still a primary school boy, but already nursed dreams of reaching the world from the inner bowl of stadiums, as Uncle Zack, as the veteran sports reporter is fondly known was doing. The journey to the commentary booth began in the GHS Bokwoango Buea Commentary Club where he was president and ran commentaries with much passion at Inter Class competitions. “Spectators would easily transfer their attention to me each time I was running commentaries,” Simon says.
When the young CRTV sports reporter came on
board in 1999 after a competitive recruitment test, he didn’t have to think
twice to embrace the sports beat. “That was my golden opportunity to realise my
dreams,” he says. It was not until one fine Sunday afternoon in 2001 that
Lyonga heaved a sigh of relief. He had received a thumb-up feedback from Joe
Chebunkeng, the then National Station Sports desk editor head, after a Canon
versus Fovu Division One encounter. “I went home chest-high and liked myself
for the rest of the day,” he explains.
Two years later, a Cameroon versus Ivory Coast Junior African Championship match in Abidjan introduced the young football commentator to the international scene. In 2004, he covered his first African Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia. Since then, the 1.67m-tall and 74kg sports reporter has been over flying the world to run football commentaries. The son of Fako origin, whose all-time most admired footballer is Ndoumbe Lea François, vividly remembers his trips to Gabon, Swatziland, Malawi, Morocco, Algeria, Tanzania, Belgium and France. Married and a father of three, Lyonga advises youths who aspire to be football commentators to learn and practise English, the main tool for the art. “Also, students should avoid sexual relationships with their teachers and engage in sports,” he concludes.
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| Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 December 2008 11:13 |
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