Sport, and more specifically football, is what some say makes the world go round. According to The Guardian it causes the ethnic and tribal fighting in Darfur to stop, while groups of people huddle around a small black and white television set to watch 22 men kick a ball that apparently cost millions of dollars to develop.
So if they went crazy for it in Darfur it’s easy to see why we went crazy for it in New Zealand, with 350 000 of us getting up to watch the All Whites' match against Italy (infuriating employers the next day with half the staff turning up late, or still half asleep).
If you were to judge by the media coverage, which was verging on David Bain mania, the consensus was that the All Whites had not just surpassed expectations, they had also opened up a new space in the psyche of the typical Kiwi. The space which is usually reserved for rugby, dog-racing, and beer.
What is exceptional about the All Whites' success is that unlike most of the other teams competing they are not a group of overpaid millionaires; with the exception of North Korea, they’re the lowest paid team at the cup.
Look at Andy Barron, the bank clerk from Wellington. Barron should have been made player of the tournament, not for his skill or performance but the fact that he might have had to take some of his annual leave to attend.
By the time you read this, the All Whites are long gone and the cup was taken home by one of the more traditional footballing nations. The question is, now that the final whistle has blown in Johannesburg and Martin Devlin has stopped giggling like a little schoolgirl, will the All Whites and New Zealand football in general be able to carry on this momentum that has built up over these past few weeks?
I find it hard to imagine that football will surpass our traditional code. I just don’t see people travelling up to three hours just to watch a game between the All Whites and the Socceroos like many did for the All Blacks vs. Wales match.
Hopefully the bigwigs at New Zealand Football know what’s good for them, and will put more effort into growing the game. Spouting out that soccer is the sport most played by youngsters is not the best idea, and they should probably stay away from paying for David Beckham to come back anytime soon because this time Posh Spice might actually join him.
Sport Potato - 15
