Car parts a no-no
Paddy Lewis
SPARE a thought for any sport other than rugby over the next six weeks, because you are about to be deluged with non-stop fifteen-a-side news.
Other than the playoff-bound Warriors, all other sports will struggle to make any headway in the news media. We’ve already had the silliness starting, with stories about how each team will be allocated their own chaplain, that Scotland has turned down a seafood buffet in Invercargill, the stupid rule about keeping the All Blacks back behind the 10m line whilst performing the haka, and so on.
There will be more. There’s bound to be a sex romp story, one about All Blacks breaching the twitter ban, what their wives and girlfriends are saying on facebook, and how children are being beaten up by security guards for running a sausage sizzle near a ground.
The silliness of all of it aside, this “celebration of rugby” quite possibly has more onerous requirements and security than the divisive Springbok tour of 1981.
I was talking to a bloke who runs a dairy near a world cup venue. Some little bureaucrat turned up a few weeks ago and told him he would have to take down all his advertising signage before the Cup started.
The signs are for Red Stripe pies (the Cup doesn’t have an official pie), an ice cream brand (there’s no official Cup ice cream) and a milk brand (once again, there’s no official dairy products sponsor). He has to meet the cost of taking them down and putting them back up again post-World Cup, or face some sort of censure. I tried to tell him normal advertising already in place was allowed, but that’s not what the officious pricks from the Ministry of Economic Development told him.
A mate was telling me he cannot take his car out of his garage on Cup days, as his street is closed for five hours before the game.
The funniest aspect to all this security and regulation is the list of prohibited items spectators are not allowed to take into match venues. It includes car parts, which is upsetting, as I had planned to take my engine block to a game. It also includes umbrellas (so I’m hoping for a fine day in New Plymouth on September 11 for the USA v Ireland match), and musical instruments.
Anyone who has ever been to a match involving France knows that there’s always a small group of their fans who bring their own drums, bugles, and what have you. They are generally pretty tuneful and add an element of fun to the match. Not this time. Rugby World Cup 2011 is a no-fun zone.
There’s also this catch-all in the prohibited items list: “Any other item that RNZ 2011 determines (in its absolute discretion) may cause injury or public nuisance or inconvenience to any other person.”
Wait for the officious security guard story, involving an autistic/disabled child, a stuffed toy/colouring book…and you can guess the rest.
All this officialdom and security actually has me nervous. I’m travelling to New Plymouth with possibly the most ill-behaved bunch of louts ever. One of the party often gets pre-warned about potential behaviour lapses by security at regular games just because of the way he looks (or maybe it’s because he’s a ginger).
Forcible behaviour modification, no fun zones, and rugby. We seem to have missed the point that this is supposed to be a showcase to the world, and a great marketing opportunity.
Here’s hoping the over-zealotry of the organizers doesn’t ruin what should be a great occasion
Other than the playoff-bound Warriors, all other sports will struggle to make any headway in the news media. We’ve already had the silliness starting, with stories about how each team will be allocated their own chaplain, that Scotland has turned down a seafood buffet in Invercargill, the stupid rule about keeping the All Blacks back behind the 10m line whilst performing the haka, and so on.
There will be more. There’s bound to be a sex romp story, one about All Blacks breaching the twitter ban, what their wives and girlfriends are saying on facebook, and how children are being beaten up by security guards for running a sausage sizzle near a ground.
The silliness of all of it aside, this “celebration of rugby” quite possibly has more onerous requirements and security than the divisive Springbok tour of 1981.
I was talking to a bloke who runs a dairy near a world cup venue. Some little bureaucrat turned up a few weeks ago and told him he would have to take down all his advertising signage before the Cup started.
The signs are for Red Stripe pies (the Cup doesn’t have an official pie), an ice cream brand (there’s no official Cup ice cream) and a milk brand (once again, there’s no official dairy products sponsor). He has to meet the cost of taking them down and putting them back up again post-World Cup, or face some sort of censure. I tried to tell him normal advertising already in place was allowed, but that’s not what the officious pricks from the Ministry of Economic Development told him.
A mate was telling me he cannot take his car out of his garage on Cup days, as his street is closed for five hours before the game.
The funniest aspect to all this security and regulation is the list of prohibited items spectators are not allowed to take into match venues. It includes car parts, which is upsetting, as I had planned to take my engine block to a game. It also includes umbrellas (so I’m hoping for a fine day in New Plymouth on September 11 for the USA v Ireland match), and musical instruments.
Anyone who has ever been to a match involving France knows that there’s always a small group of their fans who bring their own drums, bugles, and what have you. They are generally pretty tuneful and add an element of fun to the match. Not this time. Rugby World Cup 2011 is a no-fun zone.
There’s also this catch-all in the prohibited items list: “Any other item that RNZ 2011 determines (in its absolute discretion) may cause injury or public nuisance or inconvenience to any other person.”
Wait for the officious security guard story, involving an autistic/disabled child, a stuffed toy/colouring book…and you can guess the rest.
All this officialdom and security actually has me nervous. I’m travelling to New Plymouth with possibly the most ill-behaved bunch of louts ever. One of the party often gets pre-warned about potential behaviour lapses by security at regular games just because of the way he looks (or maybe it’s because he’s a ginger).
Forcible behaviour modification, no fun zones, and rugby. We seem to have missed the point that this is supposed to be a showcase to the world, and a great marketing opportunity.
Here’s hoping the over-zealotry of the organizers doesn’t ruin what should be a great occasion
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