Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Good on France

Well done France. You played an amazing game with passion and did the unthinkable (and in nz, the unforgivable!), you beat the All Blacks after 7 straight whippings. And in a World Cup quarterfinal too. I am blown away.

The game of rugby is better off for the result. If the game, and the World Cup, had followed the script, it would have been nice for us kiwi's, but boring for everyone else. France and England did the game a service by beating the top 2 favourites for the tournament on a monumental weekend of rugby.

It's not easy being a Kiwi right now, because so much of our national identity is tied up with the AB's, but you know, the more we lose these important games, the more we are forced to find other ways to identify ourselves internationally. And that is crucial for a country to mature (and it's people I might add...).

I have been down the last few days, and I think that's ok. And it's important to get the feelings off the chest. But I've heard of people giving death threats to the ref, and that's just not on. It guts you no end to lose, but shit, at the end of the day, there are more things to worry about, and more importantly, more things to look forward to.

I feel for the boys in the team. They put 4 long, hard years into preparing for that tournament, and got the worst result for an All Blacks team yet in it. They are gutted. They were ashamed to come home! But it's amazing what a few days of mourning will do. Once you get out of your own head, you can begin to think of others. I was really ashamed to be a Kiwi to begin with, but now I realise that there is much more to being a New Zealander than just the rugby.

Although it holds an important place inside, it's not all I am. And that's what we need to remember. Every country feels loss and hurt through different sports, but they keep on going. And so will we.

Good on ya France, you buggers!

4 comments:

Simple American said...

Thanks for coming by my blog.

Don't know a whole lot about rugby so I'll just wish you best of luck in future games. Good reason to fill a glass if anything.

Why be embarassed to be a Kiwi? Always thought y'all were pretty cool. One of my goals is to visit those islands before I kick the bucket.

MadDog said...

it was our own fault - got a bit arrogant because we're the number 1 rated side in the world, so we thought the Cup was rightfully ours! everyone else did too mind you, and were making the All Blacks sound invincible. It's a hard fall, but we'll be back better than ever!

De Kiwi said...

Well said :D yeah, we better not lose the next one, it'll be in New Zealand!! and maybe u'll be in NZ then aye?

even though we lost... GO THE ALL BLACKS!

MadDog said...

Once the dust has settled from this world cup, we'll be able to appreciate it for what it has done for the game. Right now of course, we're still smarting from the loss, and the inevitable jibes from all over the place. Oh well. Good luck to the Poms and the Safies for the final. May the best team win!