Rugby: The Heart and Soul of New Zealand?

So, as mentioned in my last post, I have now seen a rugby game in a country that calls the sport its lifeblood. I went and saw the local professional team called the Highlanders play a club called the Sharks on the 20th of March. The Sharks hail from Durban, South Africa, and both teams are currently cellar dwellers in the "Super 14", the biggest rugby league in the world, with teams from NZ, South Africa, and Australia. 

Thoughts on the game:

Gameday was rainy in Dunedin, but I had no doubt in my mind that the self proclaimed "toughness" of the kiwi spirit would not be dampened by the downpour, especially for something as important as a Super 14 game. I was wrong. The pre-game atmosphere reminded me more of a kids t-ball game than a professional sport (no tailgating folks), and there were probably only 3 or 4 thousand people at the game... 

Carisbrook, home of the Highlanders, is apparently called "the house of pain" because of its raucous atmosphere and the difficulty that visiting teams have winning there. Well, from my experience, the sound of rain hitting the empty seats might have been louder than the efforts of the Highlander faithful (check the picture below if you don't believe me). The home-field advantage was so poor in fact that the Highlanders were beaten handily by the Sharks, one of only two teams in the Super 14 that had a worse record prior to the game's kickoff. 

Overall Thoughts:

I was shocked at the disgustingly bad turnout and support that the local fans gave the Highlanders. Sure, the team isn't churning out wins. Yes, it is raining. Get over it. Bottom line = throw on a rain jacket, put a paper bag over your head and go support your team like a real fan. The only area that had any actual presence was the student section, and the three or so hundred kids that did turn out weren't nearly enough to make the stadium atmosphere exciting. 

It's not like these tickets are expensive either. For $25 NZ, I was able to get one of the better seats in the house. So for, lets say AT MOST $50 NZ, you could get a field-side seat in a covered area. Thats only $35 in real money, so there are no financial grounds for complaint. The Super 14 is like the NFL of rugby, so it is mind blowing to think that one of its teams can't even get a respectable crowd to one of only 7 or so home games a season. From what I've heard, this isn't just happening at Carisbrook either, it's like this at stadiums for all 4 of New Zealand's Super 14 teams. Australian and South African clubs are doing ok. 

Overall, I don't know what pride New Zealanders have, because it surely isn't what they claimed it to be. Carisbrook might be the "house of pain", but on March 20th, 2010 that pain was felt most by an American sports fanatic, expecting a taste of something exciting and different, only to have his hopes and dreams shattered. New Zealand, you have shown me that the people here are passionless and you do not deserve to call rugby "yours". Judging by what I've seen, I'd have to give that claim to South Africa because there were almost as many fans from Durban at the game as there were from Dunedin. Congratulations Kiwis, you fail. 

Now that I'm done venting, all I can really say is that NZ can still make it up to me. I will give the Highlanders another try at some point, but if the results are not significantly better than in my first outing, I will officially lose a lot of faith in New Zealanders as a people, and in New Zealand as a place. If you disagree with me or think I'm being overly harsh, all I can say is you had to be there, and you aren't me. 

Thanks everybody, sorry to sour the mood. I'll be back on in a few weeks with a post on the week long extravaganza that will be our Fall Break trip. It's going to be awesome, look for it. 

Jake