…(as the Beatles didn’t sing in Sergeant Peppers) in which the White Noise descended upon Wellington Stadium to spur New Zealand on to the Football World Cup.
I got my own little bit of Instant Karma this week with a nice pay back from a photographer I helped out after the game. Peter McDonald, a photographer with the Fairfax stable, saw me running off with the Player Mascots after the anthems and asked me the name of the kid standing with Skipper Ryan Nelsen. I didn’t know but told him I’d find out and tell him after the game. In the post-victory pandemonium I forgot to find him, so on Monday morning I tracked down Peter’s number and gave him the child’s info, including the fact that he was a Petone Junior and that his great Uncle was Barry Pickering, third choice keeper in the 82 team. Peter said this would all make for a nice local colour piece in his employer’s Hutt News community paper, and thanked me for following up.
So as a kind of thanks I guess Peter was happy to fulfil my request for some photos from the match, and of the Players’ Mascots, who I had looked after before the game.
While the Petone Juniors were well pleased that they got to stand next to the All Whites I thought the tougher job was for the Western Suburbs Juniors, who accompanied Bahrain. I told them they had to fight their patriotism and be neutral,that the Bahraini team would be nervous and would need their support. So I was thrilled when this story surfaced about one of the Mascots wishing his Bahraini player good luck, in a most uniquely Kiwi way. I remember Manaia cos he was quiet and calm while others were winding themselves up in anticipation. Coincidentally or not Manaia is a Maori word meaning Spiritual Guardian.
So below are the photos which Peter sent through, not exclusive to this sight per se but still a unique insight into the historic win last Saturday, and my small part in the match.
ALL photos courtesy and copyright of Peter McDonald
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Hi Irieeye.
ReplyDeleteI just discovered your blog via one of my favourite blogs, that other Football Tragic over here in Australia. I've read the whole thing.
Will be following you, especially up to the 2010 WC, where I'll be interested in NZ's progress second only to Australia's. Here's some unsolicited but deserved compliments:
1) You write well.
2) You respect the reader with decent spelling, grammar and punctuation.
3) Something else good - lists of three are nice after all.
For the sake of keeping my own page pretty clean I limit the links I have to Australian blogs, so I haven't linked you yet. Am thinking of linking to a seperate Links Page, in which case I'll start selectively including a lot more links, as well as archiving inactive Australian blogs, but blah blah. This isn't a fish for a link-swap.
But will you be following the Wellington Phoenix?
Hi Hamish
ReplyDeletethanks for reading and commenting-Kiwis are generally known to be very poor at accepting praise (and criticism)so I'll try my best and just say thanks for all the positives!
I am very new to all this and am building up my blog slowly, but of course through thne great Yellow Fever site I already have an e-community of football fanatics around me.
Yes, I do follow the Phoenix (great win tonight over the Jets in testing temperatures) but I'll explain my peculiar relationship with those hombres in an upcoming blog, where I'll lay down some more of my credentials,and also pay homage to yer mate over at the original Football Tragic. I'll have a look at yer blog now, and no doubt be in touch with some questions as to how this all works...
stay in touch,
Craig (Irie Eye)