Weather Forecast: Hurricanes!

Okay, so the title is a bit misleading. There are no real hurricanes coming through. That also goes for the tsunami that was to have hit the north island a few weeks ago. Nor does this blog entry have to do anything with weather, at least not in its entirety. What I'm referring to when talking about weather patterns is rugby, that great New Zealand past time. In particular, the Taranaki regional team known as none other than the Hurricanes.

You'd have to be deaf not to have some idea about the sport of rugby when you live here, even as an American. Having grown up watching American football, or grid-iron as New Zealanders refer to it, rugby appears to be a padless, crazy version of football in which players are thrown about, dropped, and tackled with necks whiplashed in such frantic fashion one wonders how the players are able to walk upright and in a straight line again, much less in a conscious state. Regardless, it is the national game. It's either talked about, watched, or played by virtually everyone. The sport is called by three different names: rugby, league, and touch. My limited understanding is that these three distinct versions differentiate the seasons in which the game is played, not so much the rules. All I know is that it allows the sport to be played year-round. There is the national team, known as the All Blacks, which is composed of players from the regional teams. The Taranaki regional team, the area in which I reside, is known as the Hurricanes, as mentioned previously.

Last night marked the final in the Super 14 series. It is the culmination of the playoffs between the regional teams. So in true rugby fashion, I joined some friends to watch the final dressed in yellow and black, the Hurricane colors, a requirement to attend. While my outfit was appropriate, it paled in comparison to the other party attendees, who stopped just short of face paint to display their team spirit. Ninety minutes later, full of jabs and snide remarks between the fans of the opposing teams, the Hurricanes unfortunately lost to the Canterbury Crusaders, a fact the "Saders" fans would not let us "Canes" fans live down. The playful banter and high fashion provided some great entertainment, important given the fact the fog was so thick we couldn't actually see the game.