Depending on your point of view, the punctuation after that headline is an exclamation or a question mark. The All Whites (New Zealand's football team, because they have to give everything nicknames here) won this country's highest sporting/ popularity vote at the Halberg Awards.
Their coach, Ricki Herbert won coach of the year for getting his team to the World Cup and ensuring that they didn't lose a game. They achieved more than New Zealand has ever done before in this global competition, contested by almost 200 countries (ten times more than play rugby world-wide). They had previously never got a point at the World Cup.
Many of the comments on news and sporting blogs have become quite snide and spiteful, such as the following sample:
"The All Whites shouldn't have even been there. Giving them the team award is an insult to all the sports men and women who actually won something - not get knocked out of the first round of a multi-round competition."
"I don't know how a team that didn't win anything can scoop the awards."
"Congratulations New Zealand for rewarding mediocrity, Way to show the youth of today that participation is the key."
If it means capturing the attention of the nation and bringing the sport to national recognition, then they have certainly done that. Football is the most popular (both player and spectator) sport in the world and New Zealand's fastest-growing sport. Apparently winning is not explicitly mentioned in the voting criteria, whereas showing 'sporting excellence on a world stage against high-quality opposition' is.
The decision was reported in USA Today - "Rugby-mad New Zealand has awarded its highest sporting honor to its national football team which was unbeaten at last year's World Cup in South Africa." It's a big talking point it seems. Don't hold your breath, but they might even stop calling it soccer. So, what are your thoughts?
2 comments:
I think you raise a very interesting and valid point about what the criteria for winning the award is and aligning public expectation with this.
Yes, the All Whites certainly played beyond all our wildest hopes and they should be congratulated. Personally, I would not have given them the team of the year because my expectation is that is should be based on winning results. However, that's just me personally and I certainly don't want to turn around and start knocking them down, now the lustre of the world cup is fading in our memories.
The all whites certainly brought a new audience to football and have been great role models. I thought Ryan Nelson was a truely passionate and proud capitan too. Their lion hearted spirit made me very proud to be a kiwi.
R.McCaw
And congratulations to you too, R McCaw, on your award which you are too modest to mention.
We do generally associate success with winning results and the All Blacks were certainly good at that in 2010.
I hope they continue their winning ways in 2011 right up until the semi-final of the rugby world cup, after which they will be beaten - narrowly after a fine performance on both sides - by England.
Kate x
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