I had a brief flirtation with playing rugby. It was a lot of fun until I blew out my ankle (again). Internationally, the sport is big, in the states not so much. As a result, one of the things that we miss is the significance of “The Haka”.
In rugby, The New Zeland All Blacks are akin to the Green Bay Packers in the NFL. One of the things that the NZ teams bring to the pitch is their cultural affinity to the Maori tribes of the South Pacific. From the Maori’s they bring The Haka.
<object width=”420″ height=”345″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/tdMCAV6Yd0Y?version=3&hl=en_US”></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/tdMCAV6Yd0Y?version=3&hl=en_US” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”420″ height=”345″ allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>
Now that you have the background, and the intimidation factor of this dance, run over to Lex’s place and check out the “Flash Mob” Haka. Also, check The Haka performed before the NZ v Ireland match.
Just a short note. The U of Hawaii football team (American type) also does the Haka before games. It upsets some folks. One team (nameless) refused to step on the field if the U of H did their Haka in the endzone. So they ( U of H) did it in their locker room. Oh, they also went undefeated that season (but lost badly in their bowl game but that’s another story.)