The All Blacks

Fourteen years ago, on my first visit to New Zealand, there was an amazing specimen of a man—a mesomorph of the first water--striding purposely through the Auckland airport. Handsome and physically powerful in the Schwarzenegger mode, he left a trail of bedazzled small children and awestruck adults vibrating in his wake. His attire--a black T-shirt with a silver fern logo (signifying NZ) and black shorts—made for barely one layer of clothing on a day when most of us were wearing two to three or four layers. When I described this vision to my future in-laws, they said “Oh, that must have been one of the All Blacks…” I nodded knowingly.

Later, I thought this over…the bloke looked dark, or tanned from the outdoors, but having known African-Americans, Jamaicans and Nigerians, etc. I would say that on the blackness scale, this gentleman was barely a man of color…certainly not all black. Fourteen years later, I have picked up the concept that the All Blacks are the rugby team of this over-achieving nation. They are a force to be reckoned with and you know that even ‘non-fans’ are bursting with pride in their quiet, Kiwi way, at this moment when our team is favoured (sic) to win the Rugby World Cup that began today in France.

Rugby is played at the pitch I pass on the way to the Uni. Usually it’s pick-up games. Sometimes it’s teams with blokes and shielas who use a small square of cloth that gets un-Velcro-ed from the hip of the opponent to indicate a tackle. The beauty of a series of rugby passes (think quarterback to half-back lateral or pitch-out in ‘our’ football) has become clear. I watched a practice game on the TV last night. It was a ‘practice’ in the sense that I was working at comprehending the rugby intricacies and strategies involved. This morning I continued this process by eating my Weet-a-bix (cereal of the All Blacks) while watching Argentina upset the host nation, France. (The lesson here was: don’t let the fact that you are bigger and favored (with the support of the crowd carrying you) lull you into thinking you will automatically win. Hopefully, this will serve as a warning wake-up call to our boys.)

Ford is running an ad here that starts with “in 1909, Henry Ford said any colour (sic) you want as long as it is black” A Model ‘T’ appears, chugging down the road. It is soon overtaken on both sides by the latest Ford models looking pretty good in black (with some silver ferns). So, it’s an ad for Ford and refers to their support of the All Blacks—which will probably make the fan go out and by a Ford immediately (?).

I also notice that Master Card advertises an all black credit card on the tube (with the logo—you know well) that somehow supports the team…this is where the word ubiquitous comes to mind…we are the (rugby) world!...will i watch tonight? the game starts at 11.00pm

check it out…

sports

If you live in a city with more than twice the population of New Zealand (you know who you are!) perhaps you can understand the great pride that the geographically remote Kiwi’s take in their ability to compete in the big wide world. The America’s (Yachting) Cup for example was won for the first time by ‘foreign’ competitors-us, over here, after 125 years or so—and, our fair Kiwi’s and NZ also came very close to snagging it again this time around.

Kiwi rowers were front-page news of late waving from Berlin where they won several gold and silver medals. You don’t have to be a Kiwi to swell with pride in the human spirit when you read that during the awards ceremony for the team of four, when the playing of the national anthem failed halfway through, the team took to singing in robust championship style to keep their moment alive!

The newspaper coverage here of America’s Cup was marked at every turn by its modesty. The rowers got adequate coverage too but I wonder if you have any idea of how big rugby is at the moment and the pressure on the All Blacks to rule? There was a 25-page section in the paper last week describing every aspect of the coming Rugby World Cup. Perhaps you in the states have had a peek at this through the September haze of baseball and the U.S. Open coverage? In any event, New Zealand is favored to win this quadrennial Cup event as is often or usually the case. ‘We’ have not quite managed to win in the twenty years following the inaugural cup of 1987. The opening ceremony starts at 6:00 am this Saturday morning and France plays first (did I mention that the tournament is in France and that the French have a strong team?) and the All Blacks play at 11:00 pm Saturday night (NZ time). Can the All Blacks adjust to the heat? (A special rule must be invoked to allow the teams one (!) break in each half of the ‘test’ for hydration.)

The weather in NZ must be one of the adverse factors that contributes to the toughness of our blokes. To survive this climate and to relish playing in it give the All Blacks an edge. (in my opinion…)

Everyday that I skip writing this blog, I have the idea of blogging daily just to write about the weather. Today is sunny with the promise of a return to the very excellent warm Spring weather of Monday. Yesterday the house was so cold—there was snow on the hills—that I started up the furnace in the late afternoon in order to dispel the chill. Monday of a week ago was another brilliant long-john free day with the Tuesday following requiring once again the long-johns and the double layer trousers. (usage tip #345: ‘pants’ in local parlance means boxers, briefs or panties…)

It is now a year since the KiwiKirks arrived in Waikikamukau. We have thriving offspring winning prizes (including cash!) in the Science Fair and testing in the top 1 % countrywide in English. These kids have friends and enjoy their excellent schools—this is pure gold…And yesterday we had the dishwasher reinstalled. Yeah! (This necessitated having an area of rotten floorboards repaired. The result of budgeting for all this meant about six months of washing dishes by hand, an activity that was not much sought after by your writer or his nearest and dearest…my enthusiasm is uncurbed)…life her is definitely on an upswing buoyed by the earlier sunrises and the birds chirping two hours before dawn in the anticipation of Spring, which is at hand…