One Eyed Awesomeness

7.00pm Friday night, Gaby and I took our seats at Christchurch Stadium (I refuse to call it AMI Stadium) - and my eyes settled on the field in front of me, and the men in red and black doing their warm ups.. not quite touching distance away, but one could certainly imagine touching them... helping them out of their tracksuits, massaging legs to get them nice and warm... shoulders.... arms.......

Wait.  Where was I?

Oh yea.  Christchurch Stadium. 7pm.  Friday 1st June 2012.  Door 27 - Row S - Seat 127.  About 10m in from the sideline, behind the try line.  Watching the men in red and black warm up.  Thinking thoughts of......

Why do I get sidetracked so easily?
... probably something to do with them boys.

So there I was - the culmination of a few weeks of inner rugby related turmoil:  where do my allegiances now lie... with the blue and gold of my upbringing, or the red and black of my adulthood?  The moment I sat down I knew the answer to that question, which had caused me such strife, and had caused a lot of familial tension (well, more good natured banter - but that doesn't sound nearly as dramatic).

Try as I might, I just couldn't ignore
the Zaccy goodness right in front of me

The answer was painfully obvious.  My eyes settled on the Crusaders warming up, and never once moved toward the other end of the field where the Highlanders were warming up.  Where usually I would have yelled "Highlanders" or something along those lines, I now looked at the Crusaders in front of me, and 'squeeeeed'.  [That is kind of like a really high pitched squeal].  I felt a little giddy at seeing some of my favouritest rugby players up close...  And again.. I didn't really acknowledge that some of my other favourite players were down the other end of the field.  I tried, but I just couldn't get excited.

I thought.. hoped.. wondered.. tricked myself into believing, that I was only squeeeeing like that, because Mr Guildford was in such close proximity to me, or perhaps because I was watching the other love of my girlfriends life warming up, or because Mr McCaw and Mr Guildford were warming up together, or because Mr Dagg and Mr Guildford did a fancy little handshake thing [or maybe because Mr Guildford lifted his top up for 10 seconds...]..

I cheered way too loudly when
this DC conversion went over!

Teams ran off.  Teams ran back on.  Whistle blew.  Game started.  Only about 4 minutes in the Crusaders scored.  I screamed.. and screamed... and screamed...  Good screams too - not screams of "NOOOOOOOOOOO!".  After a penalty by DC, the next few points went to the Highlanders - and I didn't have the slightest inclination to cheer for them.  I merely clapped politely, because Tamati Ellison got a (pretty awesome) try.

At 28.00 Zac scored a try - running from (around) half way - and I can honestly say I was cheering him on quite as one-eyed-ly as the rest of the one-eyed Crusaders supporters... There was some jumping up and down.  There was some fist pumping.  There was also an evil little giggle when I thought to myself that this game was going to result in an ass kicking.

BAD, BAD EMMA.  Not very HIghlander-ish of me.

To make it worse, DC then did a cute little chip kick, Zaccy caught the ball and proceeded to get his second try in 7 minutes.  Again - screaming, jumping, fist pumping.  Very much the extreme opposite of the last Highlanders game I attended, all decked out in blue and gold, screaming like mad when the Highlanders scored, booing whenever the Crusaders scored.  Back then my thoughts on Crusaders supporters? "One eyed bastards!" - but my thoughts on Crusaders supporters that night? "Being one eyed is AWESOME!".

DC:  Did you hear Emma supports us now?
Zaccy:  What a traitor - her Dad will disown her!

With about 15 minutes to go, a bunch of Highlanders supporters got up and left and the guy in front of me heckled them a bit...  Where I usually would have been disgusted at this display of bad sportsmanship, I giggled and explained to Gaby that those people were leaving because their team was getting their ass kicked, and they couldn't handle it.  Whilst I never once left a game early - I do understand why they left..  Crusaders (and Canterbury) supporters are very hard to be around after a match - whether their team has won or lost.  But this time?  This time I could bask in the glow of victory and success, and knowing that for once in my life, I didn't have to worry about those scary Crusaders supporters.

Fuck.  I give in.

Dear World,
I hereby declare that I'm a Crusaders supporter... BUT only because the love of my life is a Crusaders supporter.  And because of Zac.  And Izzy.  And Richie.  And the Whitelocks.  And Kieran Read.  And TinTin.  And DC.  And.. well, everyone except Wyatt Crockett.

Yours traitorly
Emma Oakden.