Sports fans have been treated to a feast this year - Editorial
Armchair fans have been treated to a sports feast this year – and there is more to come.
Major events have included the ASB Classic and Australian Open tennis, Winter Olympics and Paralympics, Super Bowl, Formula One grand prix with New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, the women’s T20 World Cup, and UFC McGregor v Holloway 2.
The Fifa World Cup, in June and July, had football fans across Aotearoa eagerly watching matches at different hours.
There was plenty on offer: 48 teams across 104 matches in 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico over more than five weeks.
It made for passionate conversations at the dinner table and workplace.
There is something about a football World Cup. It is more than a competition. It’s an epic event that captures hearts and minds and brings with it all the action, highs, lows and controversies one would expect of sport at the highest level.
It transcends sport to become theatre.
For Kiwis, this year’s World Cup was special with the All Whites making the cut for only the third time.
It was always going to be a tough ask, but they did us proud over three games, exiting the group stage with a 5-1 loss to Belgium in Vancouver.
Monday morning’s final between Argentina and Spain brought more controversy, with Argentine players throwing punches at their rivals afterwards.
It was an unprofessional end that set a bad example for young players.
That same day, Kiwi Ryan Fox stunned the golfing world by winning the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in England, propelling him to greatness.
Then there’s the Warriors, who have so far had a strong season and were second on the NRL ladder going into this weekend’s fixtures. They have 12 wins in 17 games, with 30 points.
There’s nothing like seeing Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, glorious hair flowing behind him, diving at the corner to get another try.
The Warriors play the Bulldogs tonight, and let’s hope they deliver another win.
No winter would be complete without our mighty All Blacks. This year’s start for the squad was always going to be interesting under new head coach Dave Rennie.
They haven’t disappointed, with three wins from three matches against France, Italy and Ireland.
It’s been satisfying watching the likes of Will Jordan, Ruben Love and Damian McKenzie.
Their next game is in South Africa as part of what’s being pitched as “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour”.
Super Rugby Aupiki is also in the spotlight with Matatū and defending champions the Blues clashing in the final this afternoon in Christchurch. A shoutout goes to Hurricanes Poua’s Renee Holmes, who became the first player in the contest to score 200 points.
Lastly, the Commonwealth Games started in Glasgow yesterday (NZ time) and finish in early August.
The 23rd Games are pared down from earlier ones, but will still have plenty to offer and provide athletes with an international stage.
There are 10 sports, including athletics, para-athletics, boxing, swimming and artistic gymnastics, featuring about 3000 athletes from 74 nations and territories. New Zealand has 114 athletes competing, including Olympic medallists Hamish Kerr, Tom Walsh and Eliza McCartney.
New Zealand won 50 medals, including 20 gold, at the 2022 Birmingham Games.
There will be records broken and medal winners experiencing the highest of highs. Who can forget John Walker taking the silver in the 1500m in Christchurch in 1974?
There will also be heartbreak and controversies.
Sure, it’s not as big as the Olympics. But these athletes, like all top sportspeople, have put in countless hours of training and sacrifice to get to where they are. They deserve our support.
Sport gives us something to look forward to. It provides talking points the next day at work or the next family gathering.
It unites people and can bring out the best in them. It can also create rivalries and spark disagreements.
In winter, there’s nothing like grabbing a blanket on the couch, stoking the fire, and sitting back to soak it all in.
There’s plenty more to come, including more All Blacks games and the NPC and FPC rugby championships.
Over the coming weeks and months, let’s give our sports stars our full support and cheer them on – even if it is from the comfort of our armchairs.