The winner takes it all (ABBA)

Draws. The British and Irish Lions and All Blacks fought out a series draw after the third test ended up at 15-15.

The drama of sport? It felt more like a cosmic joke. 

A tantalising win for the AB's seemed on offer until the bizarre French referee ended the game in a complete anti-climax.

Leaving aside the cowardly decision by the ref to change his mind after another annoying check with the video ref (too many refs spoiling the game), the hollow feeling we all felt because of the result was interesting.

Americans can't stand a drew. Someone has to win.

Other sports can't stand a draw. Someone has to win.

So we have overtime (NBA/ NFL/NHL/MLB), or a tie-break (tennis), or a penalty shoot out (football/ hockey), or something else entirely to break the deadlock.

Why? Because we need someone to win, to dominate, to provide bragging rights, to satisfy some deep need/craving we have.

On Saturday night Steve Hansen trotted out the 'kissing your sister' analogy again - I really don't like that tired joke. Something vaguely off about the hint of incest involved.

Instead, I do love the genius opening to Woody Allen's Stardust Memories movie (which turns out to be a movie within a movie by Sandy Bates of course):




That's the feeling, precisely, of a draw. Somewhere - there's another train, a better existence, a win, that we gaze at longingly, but it's out of reach - impossibly on a parallel track. We long for it, and we try for it anyway, but without success.

In the end Lions and AB fans were all together wandering aimlessly around a rubbish dump while gulls circled in the sky.

Love and peace - WNP

You're so far away and so long ago but a dream goes on forever (Todd Rundgren)

England 1 - Italy 2

Maybe it was me, but I thought the Italy v England game was slower and less intense than the other games I've watched so far.

England didn't press and so Pirlo ran the show...again. Rooney fizzled. End of story.

If you want to know what the FIFA World Cup means to ordinary Nu Zilders here's a story:

I watched the game wearing my old Umbro England shirt (one star above the three lions - that one) and stuck with it for the rest of the day. When I was out and about in Waipukarau (service station, New World foodmarket etc) I got lots of comments:

"Didn't help ya last night did it mate" (The All Blacks played the second test against England in Dunedin)

When I pointed out it was a football shirt and I was supporting the English against the Italians this morning they looked at me with a billion questions in their eyes.

"Football? You mean soccer?" No I mean football.

Oh nevermind.

In this part of the world rugby is King and the All Blacks are the anointed ones; football is soccer and, ipso facto, soccer is supported by fanatical passionate tribes of weirdos elsewhere in the world. 

The gathering of the tribes happens every four years.

And here we are again - watching England at a World Cup finals, hoping like crazy we can have our very own 1966.

But then the Prince Valiants fall at the first hurdle and we're in familiar territory. 


Love and peace - Wozzinho

Oh All Blacks we love you!!

It's the day before the All Blacks take on Australia for a place at redemption in the Rugby World Cup final next week.

GO THE ALL BLACKS!!