The iconic scarfie drinking game “possum” has gone global after an Otago Daily Times article reported concerns that growing popularity of the game is causing problems in the Dunedin Botanic Gardens.
The story was subsequently run by The Guardian and The Sun in England, Fox News in the United States, The Bangkok Post in Thailand and Le Point in France, among other media outlets. The news piece reached the most-read story in the world section of The Guardian’s website under the headline, “Possum tree-drinking game too trunk and disorderly for Dunedin parks.” (Perhaps Critic has been too harsh on the ODT after all.)
The article, originally published in the ODT on May 3, first made it outside of New Zealand when Auckland freelance journalist Toby Manhire passed the story on to The Guardian. Manhire located the original article “via the ODT via the Herald via a tweet.”
The international media coverage has reported the objective of the game as drinking in excess in a tree until one falls to the ground. However, Critic understands that the traditional principle behind the game is to consume a certain amount of alcohol while staying up a tree, rather than falling out of it per se.
French publication Le Point detailed the game as “the rage” in Dunedin, saying it was causing “inconvenience to pedestrians” as a result of “empty bottles, broken glass and soiled lawns”. Coverage of the craze on the website of current affairs channel France 24 included a windswept photo of a tree on deserted farmland, captioned “photo illustration of a tree in a field in Dunedin.”
Critic Editor Joe Stockman found himself at the centre of the international media frenzy, after being approached for comment by various news outlets, including The Guardian and CNN, to comment on the scarfie pastime.
According to Stockman, “We were just wrapping up print night when my phone started ringing off the hook with international press seeking comment on the possum problem in Dunedin. CNN rang when I was totally blazed the next day. Shit got awkward.” Stockman’s newfound international celebrity status backfired when he attempted to promote a French possum fad by suggesting Parisians scale the Eiffel Tower with cans of Speights. “I tried to be cool and interesting when answering all of these media enquiries,” says Stockman. “All I managed was cliché and douchebaggery. Or douchebagérie, as the French might say.”
Scarfies find their place in world is up trees, wasted
