Field Theory: It's about time
50 Responses
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Union. She was a massive League fan. Still is, I assume.
Yes. I interviewed her twice before she was PM and both times she talked about being the patron of the Mt Albert club. It did seem to matter to her.
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kiwicmc, in reply to
and was in the Mad Butcher lounge at Mt Smart on numerous occasions - no cameras anywhere to be seen...
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Really disapponted that Hadyn hasn't had time to critique the RWC team kits in this year of peak design engagement.
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Hadyn Green, in reply to
I'll get there Mark, there's a lot of rugby to go!
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Hadyn Green, in reply to
To be fair the NZRU asked to have the naming at parliament.
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tim kong, in reply to
http://www.ruggerblogger.co.nz/?p=2241
Not much critique - but a handy overview of the team kits there. :)
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Sacha, in reply to
To be fair the NZRU asked to have the naming at parliament.
And you reckon they would have done that unless they already knew the answer was 'yes'?
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izogi, in reply to
I’m not sure it matters who initiated it. That the NZRU chose to do it, given the option, just seems shortsighted to me with everything that had been brewing up until then. Immediately afterwards there were predictably even more accusations flying about political partisanship in the game, to the point that the PM was out in the media defending them in another showing that could only possibly inflame things!
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Maz,
I don't mind at all that players in general, and McCaw in particular, have opinions and ideologies. In fact, I'd like to see them stand up and say, "this bothers me, but that is great". What really bugs me is the silent just-standing-there-smiling, tacit backing of the Gubmint. The I'm your mate - yness. Handshakes and parliament events.
Be your own person, and stand behind your opinions, but leave all the sleaze.I'm afraid that McCaw might be remembered not just for being an outstanding player and captain, but as a toadie and dirty player.
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linger, in reply to
Shoo-in for the next leader of National, then?
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It's fairly standard for politicians to acquire an interest in sport once they start to seek public office. Mr Pigpoker can't even remember which team they decided he should support.
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Back on election day I expressed disappointment when Izzy Dagg and Jonah Lomu actively promoted the Nats via Twitter and was pilloried by some PAS posters for suggesting that ABs shouldn't have an opinion.
Ignoring the fact that they were breaking electoral law, it disgusted me that in the immediate aftermath of Dirty Politics, some ABs were publicly declaring support for the very team that had just been found guilty of match fixing. Their action was at odds with the fair play image the ABs try hard to promote.
By allowing Brand Key to politicise the ABs, the NZRU is alienating previously loyal supporters. I posted the other day how Key's overly-close association with the ABs diminished my passion for the team, and that's certainly spilled over into this RWC. In the past I would never miss an ABs game, but I didn't watch the ABs v Namibia this morning.
My heart's just not in it anymore.
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Haydn, love that you are bucking against the orthodoxy, but will respectfully have to disagree. I think Richie is awesome :)
Politicians have been making capital out of sports people since the days of Gladiators (if not before). And its nearly aways been a little, say, uncomfortable, for the sportspeople to (at least publicly) resist the attentions of the powerful.
But there are always exceptions, Ken Gray for example, who famously (and quietly) retired to his farm rather than go on the 1970 South Africa tour. Luz Long who publicly befriended Jesse Owens in Berlin, etc etc (there must be gazillions of examples).
While I admire the likes of David Pocock for using his public profile to take stands on things like LGBT rights and environmental causes, I find it hard to hate on those sports-people who remain politically mute, or who try not to rock the boat with their inevitable political patrons.
That said, I'd have loved it if the likes of Ronaldo and Messi had gathered a group of the world's leading football players and made a public call for reformation of FIFA. That would have got the ball rolling a bit quicker .....
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Glenn Pearce, in reply to
How often did league-fan Clark show up in the dressing room after the game for a photo shoot?
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Peter Darlington, in reply to
It's fairly standard for politicians to acquire an interest in sport once they start to seek public office. Mr Pigpoker can't even remember which team they decided he should support.
Aston Villa, it's ASTON BLOODY VILLA! :-)
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Team photo - 2015 All Blacks
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linger, in reply to
—not West Ham, then?
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Peter Darlington, in reply to
—not West Ham, then?
We don't allow his sort. We draw the line at the Queen and Obama.
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Glenn Pearce, in reply to
The guy on Key's right was a bolter selection for the World Cup.
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simon g, in reply to
His selection was due to poor phone reception. Hansen actually said "I need another Walter Little", not "call to Little".
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Russell Brown, in reply to
To be fair the NZRU asked to have the naming at parliament.
And you reckon they would have done that unless they already knew the answer was 'yes'?
It was still a bad idea. Richie's "but then half the country would hate me" was closer to the mark on the political front.
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It's bugging me too, but athletes should be able to say what they want, same as anyone else. It's not surprising that the wealthy young men of the ABs are mostly Nats-by-default.
On the other hand, the officials would be wise to be more careful about who they let into their photo ops. If they keep going like this, many NZers will be like the South Africans who prefer the ABs to their 'own' team. I'm tempted to switch my allegiance to Australia on the basis of David Pocock alone -- an outspoken man (whose opinions I agree with), very brave given his social context, who also happens to be perhaps the best player in the world right now. Same position as Ruchie, in fact, but -- whisper it -- better... -
BenWilson, in reply to
It’s bugging me too, but athletes should be able to say what they want, same as anyone else. It’s not surprising that the wealthy young men of the ABs are mostly Nats-by-default.
They should, although when they're pretty much representatives of a professional organization, they should consider the extent to which their pronouncements associate that organization positively. The head of Telecom would be ill-advised to pronounce on their political alignment, in case they alienate a chunk of their customer base unnecessarily.
I definitely feel a big turn-off from rugby when I hear them expressing their opinion, because then it goes from something that doesn't matter, in which all opinions are pretty much equal and ridiculous hyperbole is expected, to something that does matter. I feel like cheering for Ritchie is cheering for dickheads who are fucking the country up. It makes me feel like he's a dickhead and that I'd rather he lost face publicly. Only a little bit, of course, but that's because he's only done it a little bit.
OK, if it were support for my own political choices, I might like them more, but I'd say the losses from alienating people are greater than the gains from increasing support. Especially when their support is already so huge, they have only losses to make from a branding decision like that.
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izogi, in reply to
They should, although when they’re pretty much representatives of a professional organization, they should consider the extent to which their pronouncements associate that organization positively.
Maybe to a point, but for another context, how about scientists who get told to stand in line with their employer’s comms department? That’s effectively what happened to Jim Salinger a few years ago when, in his capacity as a fully qualified scientist, he was fired by NIWA for (after several warnings about similar incidents) giving his opinion to media about shrinking glaciers, without authorisation.
I find it annoying when players start blabbing about politics I disagree with, but as Haydn said it’s probably just because it gives me reasons to dislike them.
I cringe, however, when I see the NZRU overtly aligning itself politically, or otherwise doing nothing to discredit or distance itself from the political figures who have been seeking it out. That’s not just an individual player risking a public backlash. It risks the image of the entire game, and the people who run the NZRU should know better.
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would be ill-advised to pronounce on their political lignment, in case they alienate a chunk of their customer base unnecessarily.
I know what you mean, but I dont have an issue with any public figure expressing their opinion about an issue they feel strongly about. The grey area becomes if/when that opinion is perceived as overtly political - and the threshold for that varies from person to person.
I'd have no issue with a David Pocock (or a Richie McCaw, or a business leader, or whomever) publicly advocating for, say, human rights, or environmental causes, or for advancement of positive outcomes for New Zealand. But if/when they publicly advocate for a particular party policy position that supports human rights, rather than the human rights policy of party X, are they going too far? Probably a direct advocacy to 'Vote for candidate X' would be seen by most as a step too far.
I personally dont have an issue with that either - people should be able to support what/who they like (and make the distinction between personal opinion and that of their employer if needed). But its very easy for this sort of thing to be politicised, or regarded as political by those who oppose a particular policy or party. The US is a classic example where public discourse has become so partisan, and so politicised, that any public pronouncements by 'famous people' is instantly viewed through the prism of party politics, and dismissed/lauded as such.
To revert back to the sporting analogy that started this thread, I'd like to live in a place where someone like Richie can have a public reckon, without anyone thinking he's a political stooge/oaf/hero [insert word of your choice]
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