Richard
Moore's Straight Talk Columns
Pride,
passion, guts - sounds like Halberg
15/2/2011
CRIKEY,
who'd be an All White.
The
national soccer team that earned the praise of Kiwis and soccer
lovers with their gutsy effort in the World Cup Finals is now being
crucified by some fellow sportsmen for winning this year's Supreme
Halberg Award.
In case you've forgotten, the All Whites, who were ranked 78th in
the world, took on some major soccer names in Paraguay, Slovakia
and Italy and drew all three games.
It
wasn't pretty, but it was pretty amazing, and they played with pride,
passion and guts.
Paraguay
got to the World Cup for the fourth time in a row. They are a South
American soccer power and were knocked out from the last eight teams
by a single goal from eventual winner Spain.
Slovakia
has been runner-up twice when playing as Czechoslovakia in 1934
and 1962.
Italy,
as everyone knows, is football. It is the second most successful
nation in history with four World Cup wins: 1934, 1938, 1982 and
2006.
Against
those teams the All Whites, in the biggest sporting competition
in the world, did not lose a match.
They
were expected to get thumped by at least two of their opponents.
For
that gutsy effort the soccer guys won their award and this has split
the sporting country with many people recognising a genuine, huge
achievement, while others moan how can that be the top effort for
a New Zealand sporting side when they didn't win anything.
A
Halberg judge, Dick Tayler quit in protest. Tayler, who was the
10,000m gold medallist at the 1974 Commonwealth Games, said he was
``irate'' and ``speechless'' regarding the decision.
Champion
rower Mahe Drysdale reckons the awards are about sporting excellence
and should just be for winners.
``If
they [the All Whites] had made the semifinals, for example, then
maybe that is a case where they are worthy over an actual winner.
``But
the fact is they won one out of nine games and didn't even finish
in the top 16 at the World Cup.''
Sorry,
Mahe, maybe you've had too many early mornings in freezing air.
To
reach the final 16 at the World Cup is huge and as for being in
the semis - that's an Everest-high goal for any major soccer nation,
let alone New Zealand.
Former
Black Cap Adam Parore also slammed the award. Parore said the All
Whites did not warrant winning something that is supposed to honour
sporting excellence.
Well,
one would have to ask, what would a Black Cap know about sporting
excellence?
Parore added he had been disenchanted with the Halbergs for years
because they honoured minority sports rather than sportsmen and
women who performed at a winning level.
Um,
Adam, rugby is a minor sport. You may not like to hear it, but in
world terms it means bugger all.
The
International Rugby Board claims to have 94 member countries but,
honestly, do any of them out of the top 20 have anything other than
a handful of expat Kiwis, Brits, South Africans or Aussies playing
there?
Soccer's
Fifa has more than 200 registered nations with any of 20 sides able
to give the World Cup a serious nudge.
In
rugby you have a maximum of five.
There
are 240 million registered soccer players worldwide - 60 times the
whole of NZ - rugby can manage two million. Rugby league has 1 million.
Netball about 20 million.
What
are the most popular sports in the world?
No1
is, surprise, soccer, then it's cricket, field hockey, tennis, volleyball,
table tennis, baseball, golf, basketball, American football.
Didn't
see rugby or rowing there. N
ow
don't get me wrong, I love rugby and Australia winning its third
World Cup this year will put me over the moon, but if the Socceroos
were to win the World Cup in soccer I'd be visiting Alpha Centauri.
The
other thing that these sportsmen seem to forget is that the Halberg
Trust not only honours excellence, but also is there to get young
disabled people play and be active with their non-disabled friends.
That
is the organisation's key aim.
Sir
Murray Halberg was a champion New Zealand athlete who suffered a
serious, arm-crippling injury while playing rugby and switched to
running. He overcame his disability through guts and determination
and went on to be NZ's first sub four-minute miler, won Commonwealth
gold over three miles in 1958 and in 1960 at the Rome Olympics won
the 5000m. He also set four world records.
But
Halberg's career was built on overcoming the odds, of never saying
anything was too hard and of proving to the world that you could
shine as a sportsman by just doing your best in unlikely circumstances.
That's
what the All Whites did.
And
that's why they are deserving of the Supreme Halberg Award.
richard@richardmoore.com
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