Marco Masotti pens Open Letter to Sharks ‘family
The Sharks have officially unveiled a new identity on Thursday as the Durban-based franchise celebrates 30 years of professional rugby. As part of this…
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The Sharks have officially unveiled a new identity on Thursday as the Durban-based franchise celebrates 30 years of professional rugby.
As part of this re-launch, Marco Masotti, Controlling Owner – Sharks Rugby Club, penned an open letter to all their fans.
OPEN LETTER TO OUR SHARKS FAMILY
There is a seat in the South East Stand at Hollywoodbets Kings Park that I will never forget.
It was nothing special to look at. The kind of seat that left a mark on the back of your legs on a hot Durban afternoon. But to me, that seat was everything. It was where I sat with my father, Venio Masotti. It was where I first understood what it meant to belong to something bigger than myself.
I remember the noise. I remember the pride. I remember looking at my father after a try had been scored and realising that supporting The Sharks was about more than rugby. It was about family. It was about our province. It was about identity.
I left that stadium a Shark for life.
I never imagined that one day I would have the privilege – and the responsibility – of helping shape this club’s future.
Becoming the controlling owner of The Sharks was never a business decision. It was the decision of a supporter who couldn’t stand on the sidelines any longer. Everything we have done since has been guided by one simple responsibility:
To improve this club and institutionalise the excellence it deserves
That responsibility has shaped every decision we have made, including the difficult ones.
Last season did not reflect the standards of this club or the expectations of our supporters. That is not to say the last few seasons have been without success – some rank among the most successful in this club’s history. But we have learned from them too: about how to build something more sustainable than the inconsistency that has too often defined this club.
Many of you remained loyal when loyalty was costly. Others stepped away, not because you stopped caring, but because caring had become difficult. I understand both.
I don’t ask for blind faith today. I ask only that you judge us by the work now taking shape – on the field, off the field and in the culture we are building throughout this club.
Today we unveil the most significant evolution in The Sharks’ professional history. Not because we wanted a new badge. But because we believe this club deserves a stronger future.
If all we wanted was a new logo, it would never have been worth putting our supporters through this change. This is about something much bigger than design.
It is about ensuring that thirty years from now another young supporter can fall in love with this club just as I did.
Many people will ask why we chose to do this.
The answer begins with who we are. The Sharks have never been a club that waits for the game to change around it. We have always believed in helping shape where rugby goes next. We did it in 1996 when we became The Sharks. We did it by embracing transformation. We did it by pioneering new …