Ze Rak Sport

Ze Rak Sport

"Ze Rak Sport" (Hebrew script: זה רק ספורט, English translation: "It's Just Sport") was the Israeli entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992, performed in Hebrew by Dafna Dekel.

The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Dekel comparing the ritual of courtship with sport. She sings that the girl, at least, needs to bear this in mind and thus "She won't cry, she won't declare this her day of death". The trick, it seems, is to remember that it's all in fun all the time. It is a known fact in Israel that Dekel wasn't motivated as she had not wished to win the pre-selection for the Eurovision song contest and was shocked to learn she had won, so the not too motivated girl in the song suited Dekel's feelings towards competing in the contest in Sweden. Dekel declared she does not want to win.

The song was originally 3 minutes and 17 seconds long but after a court battle with Dekel's runner up in the pre-selection show the writers of the song promised to cut out the 17 seconds. In the live version in Sweden Dekel sings the last chorus in English ("Viva sport"). That was the first attempt of Israel to sing in English in the Eurovision song contest.

The English version of the song is called "Viva Sport", and the lyrics are a salute to the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.