Has Hansen gone stale?
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@booboo said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@chris-b said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@mokey said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@mariner4life Can you imagine trying to explain those years to kids nowadays.
Well, poppets, we had some rough times. The Wallabies were on top of the world. Locks kicked. Richie cried. Anton couldn't count. The French routed us. John was on a journey...Has someone still got that Gorgeous Grogan post as he rode into the sunset...?
Ladies, Gentlemen and Adults of Indeterminate and/or Transitional Gender
May I present to you Peak Fern, the most awesome post ever. Shared by long lost and departed @Gorgeous_Grogan (I added the @ just in case he’s still lingering …) the day after 23 October 2011 …
Enjoy.
(Sorry cloud image didn't work ... imagine it )
Ding dong the Witch is dead
Today, without a hint of overstatement, I can now die a happy man. Before I indulge you as to why first look at this picture of lovely little clouds...
(Cloud image)
They are as light and as fluffy as my soul today.
Now look outside your window gentlemen. Does the sun not shine a little brighter today? Does the grass not appear a little greener? Does the World not appear as though it has returned to a blissful harmonious state after seeming strangely off-kilter for the last 2 and a half decades or so? As you listen to birds warbling "The Hallelujah Chorus" in glorious symphonic unison, contemplate this simple truth...
Our team, yes OUR team.....are Champions of the World.
In the last World Cup of our lifetimes to be played on home soil, the annointed spiritual guardians of our great game have faced their demons, and stared them down. With an irresistible fusion of pure, concentrated mana, Aaron Crudens' lefty, and the terrifying power of an all-consuming Blackness, they have inscribed their indelible legacy into the pages of history forevermore. And if that act wasn't sufficiently "Brad Thorn" enough, we did it.....
...Without Dan Carter
...Without Dan Carters replacement
...We even did it without our cancer surviving, mono-bollocked, rough-headed Carter-replacement-replacement for fucks sake, it reads like a hollywood script. (Come on Peter Jackson, get off your arse and do something for New Zealand, prove you're still street. "Invictus II - The Redemption", it's as good as written)
...We did it with half a McCaw
...Against the Wallabies in a sudden death semi-final
...Twice against France
...In the style and spirit of the '87 pioneers (We even did it with cute little white collars on)
...With so many others gleefully, even desperately willing us to chokeFurthermore, for once our unparalleled player depth actually DID count for something at the pointy end. The Cartel redeemed themselves. The Duck redeemed himself. After falling twice Richie McCaw (The greatest living New Zealander bar none, now surely the undisputed greatest All Black, possibly player, of all time and general all round good fluffybunny) finally gets his reward (and probably an instant knighthood, a minted coin, maybe a postage stamp and at the very least an undie commercial).
Yes, for today my friends, we finally lay to rest the ghosts of failed campaigns, heartbreaking memories of drop goals in overtime, intercepts, forward passes, and explosive diaherrea. Tears of grief, humiliation and ridicule, missed opportunities, disastrous selection policy, fate, merciless sledging, raw disbelief and referees. Of fallen warriors such as Cullen, Jonah, Zinzan and Tana who deserved more for the blood they spilt in black and who fought and fell on foreign soil, with the Silver Fern on their chest.
Today is a rebirth.
Today I can watch rugby and actually enjoy it again (rather than through my fingers, with a burning, twisting knot of anxiety and nausea in my stomach)
Today I will no longer have to wonder if we will EVER win another world cup.
Today we no longer have to hear the "Choker" tag burning in our ears (usually from supporters who jump on the French because their own teams have been knocked out long before us, might I add)
Today I no longer have to hear the (annoyingly inaccurate and lazy) cliche about the All Blacks peaking between World Cups or about "losing their aura"
Today that evil little goblins' "Four more years" sledge suddenly hurts no more.
Today I will no longer have to watch our team flog themselves to exhaustion season after season trying to live up to impossible expectations under intense public scrutiny, conquering all before them, winning test after test yet always having one eye on an looming World Cup which will apparently invalidate it all (but we've still got our 85% winning record right guys?.....Guys?)
Today I no longer have to endure losing a World Cup and then listening to pasty, bandwagon-jumping, fair-weather twats with shit ginger Tarquin haircuts who know less than nothing about rugby, regurgitating the latest bullshit trendy newsfeed narrative that's been fed to them as though they have aaaaaaany fucking idea what they're talking about.
Today I became genuinely impervious to any bitter trolling that Welsh "journalists" may scrawl about the All Blacks. Negative articles will now simply slide right off like so much dust off a gumboot (as opposed to previously, when it was more like say, irritating dog turd nuggets mashed right into the sole, requiring a stick or some other implement to extricate from the tread, and even though you're sure you got it all there always still seems to be a vague lingering turdy smell following you around all day, even after you've given them a couple of good goings over with the hose, (maybe you got a bit on your sleeve).......Anyway, what I was getting at is that the petty squealing of "the Irrelevant" matters not when you're the World Champions. Yep you heard that right, WORLD CHAMPIONS...(And yes, even now when they'll probably just put out articles claiming we can only win the thing at home)
Today brothers and sisters, "The Curse" has lifted.
As pathetic as it may sound, after the continual gut-wrenching failure and heartache I have endured for my entire adult life, over a quarter of a century, today IS that important. Indeed we may never lift another world cup in my lifetime. But to me at least, it simply no longer matters. Say it with me now.....It No. Longer. Matters. We knocked the bastard off. The searing agony of 4.5 million Kiwis has been extinguished, and now we all get to ride off merrily into the sunset to our pre-planned victory parade in our big-arsed jumbo with our front row repainted all over the front. See kids? Dreams do come true.
All Blacks.................Fuck yeah!
Cue up the iconic (albeit heavily edited, couldn't find the long version sorry) video of fans from the 2011 final. 7 years on and I still get emotional watching the people, thinking about that day and what it meant to me
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Ladies and gentlemen, I think there are two main questions before us:
- If 1999*, 2003 and 2007 didn’t happen would The Silverfern actually exist?
I certainly would not have found the fern, let alone have created an account if it weren’t for 2003, after which I went searching desperately on the interwebs for “answers”. A quest which brought me here. Can any of the admins provide any stats on traffic/posts related to these 3 seismic events as a proportion of total? Or even posts/traffic comparisons between losses and wins?
- If we assume the answer to the above is “no”, and we accept that we constantly relive the trauma of these events in a sort of masochistic nostalgic group therapy session, where do you think your “passion for the game” would be if 1999, 2003, and 2007 had not happened (I.e. we were now 6 times w champion)?
*given the accepted orthodoxy that 1995 was not a choke but a Davos conspiracy to unify South Africa and tie them to IMF fiscal policy for generations (see off topic for details)
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Ladies and gentlemen, I think there are two main questions before us:
- If 1999*, 2003 and 2007 didn’t happen would The Silverfern actually exist?
I certainly would not have found the fern, let alone have created an account if it weren’t for 2003, after which I went searching desperately on the interwebs for “answers”. A quest which brought me here. Can any of the admins provide any stats on traffic/posts related to these 3 seismic events as a proportion of total? Or even posts/traffic comparisons between losses and wins?
- If we assume the answer to the above is “no”, and we accept that we constantly relive the trauma of these events in a sort of masochistic nostalgic group therapy session, where do you think your “passion for the game” would be if 1999, 2003, and 2007 had not happened (I.e. we were now 6 times w champion)?
*given the accepted orthodoxy that 1995 was not a choke but a Davos conspiracy to unify South Africa and tie them to IMF fiscal policy for generations (see off topic for details)
@dejo Every main rugby country has an equivalent of The Silverfern.
Some are better than others, but they all grew without the traumas of choking at World Cups.
It's inconceivable that a country with as many fans as NZ would not have rugby forums.
Edit: I came here, and actually often still do come here, to find specific answers to questions. The chat is incidental.
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Ladies and gentlemen, I think there are two main questions before us:
- If 1999*, 2003 and 2007 didn’t happen would The Silverfern actually exist?
I certainly would not have found the fern, let alone have created an account if it weren’t for 2003, after which I went searching desperately on the interwebs for “answers”. A quest which brought me here. Can any of the admins provide any stats on traffic/posts related to these 3 seismic events as a proportion of total? Or even posts/traffic comparisons between losses and wins?
- If we assume the answer to the above is “no”, and we accept that we constantly relive the trauma of these events in a sort of masochistic nostalgic group therapy session, where do you think your “passion for the game” would be if 1999, 2003, and 2007 had not happened (I.e. we were now 6 times w champion)?
*given the accepted orthodoxy that 1995 was not a choke but a Davos conspiracy to unify South Africa and tie them to IMF fiscal policy for generations (see off topic for details)
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I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
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I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
When they referred to the cartel the media didn't realise that meant the coaches and TSF!!
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Ladies and gentlemen, I think there are two main questions before us:
- If 1999*, 2003 and 2007 didn’t happen would The Silverfern actually exist?
I certainly would not have found the fern, let alone have created an account if it weren’t for 2003, after which I went searching desperately on the interwebs for “answers”. A quest which brought me here. Can any of the admins provide any stats on traffic/posts related to these 3 seismic events as a proportion of total? Or even posts/traffic comparisons between losses and wins?
- If we assume the answer to the above is “no”, and we accept that we constantly relive the trauma of these events in a sort of masochistic nostalgic group therapy session, where do you think your “passion for the game” would be if 1999, 2003, and 2007 had not happened (I.e. we were now 6 times w champion)?
*given the accepted orthodoxy that 1995 was not a choke but a Davos conspiracy to unify South Africa and tie them to IMF fiscal policy for generations (see off topic for details)
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@dejo The old software used to have 'public details' for users online stats and IIRC some day in 2007 generated the most for some years to come.
@taniwharugby said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@dejo The old software used to have 'public details' for users online stats and IIRC some day in 2007 generated the most for some years to come.
I recall the blood letting and analysis was epic
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I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
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@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
Nothing beats the Paj(?) vs Davidav battle royal that was the Middle East thread. Vigorous. Although Guns and Strippers was pretty close
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@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
Nothing beats the Paj(?) vs Davidav battle royal that was the Middle East thread. Vigorous. Although Guns and Strippers was pretty close
@canefan said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
Nothing beats the Paj(?) vs Davidav battle royal that was the Middle East thread. Vigorous
Not sure I remember that one. I feel slighted now, I might round up @Chris-B (IIRC Paj was a Hammetteur fluffer as well) and find the old Hammettuer thread and kick start it again to take it to glory.
Although, the Blues fans during the Tana and Kirwan eras probably generated higher post counts but they tended to do that over multiple threads rather than concentrating it in one.
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@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
Nothing beats the Paj(?) vs Davidav battle royal that was the Middle East thread. Vigorous. Although Guns and Strippers was pretty close
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I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
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I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
@act-crusader said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
I wish Mitchell and Deans had stopped reading your emails back in 02.
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@act-crusader said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
I wish Mitchell and Deans had stopped reading your emails back in 02.
@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@act-crusader said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
I wish Mitchell and Deans had stopped reading your emails back in 02.
2002 was all part of the grand plan to win back the Bledisloe in 2003. As Henry did, Hansen is still riding their coat tails.
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@no-quarter said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I joined in 08 and since then we've had back to back WCs. Obviously the AB coaches have been reading my wise words and made the necessary adjustments.
I think I joined in 08 too (or 07, it's fuzzy) but I remember reading stuff earlier than that.
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
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@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@act-crusader said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
I wish Mitchell and Deans had stopped reading your emails back in 02.
2002 was all part of the grand plan to win back the Bledisloe in 2003. As Henry did, Hansen is still riding their coat tails.
@act-crusader said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@act-crusader said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
I only come on the Fern because Hansen stopped reading my emails.
I wish Mitchell and Deans had stopped reading your emails back in 02.
2002 was all part of the grand plan to win back the Bledisloe in 2003. As Henry did, Hansen is still riding their coat tails.
I like it, they completely foxed it, playing boring stodgy rugby based on the Cantablacks and then a year later unleashing the Blues gameplan (that they had secretly told Graham Henry to start practising) on Oz.
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@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
I was. It did!
@chris-b said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
I was. It did!
Imagine how good it would have been if I was around to reign your excessive fluffing in?
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@chris-b said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
@nepia said in Has Hansen gone stale?:
If I was here in 03 the Bitchell thread might have made the Hammettuer thread seem tame in comparison.
I was. It did!
Imagine how good it would have been if I was around to reign your excessive fluffing in?
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God 2002 was shit year.
Highlights the games v South Africa, a good win at home, and a win in Durban. But the world's most boring game v the Wallabies, then a loss. Took the Taine/Jonah/Cully farewell tour away with a squad guaranteeing they would lose, and they did.
Our team was so underwhelming, the results were a bit shit, just a forgettable year.
Funnily enough, until the World Cup in 2011, the only year i had been to more than one AB test (Fiji and Saffers in Wellington)
Mark fucking Robinson at centre over Tana!!!
