Cultural Exchange

[Balsiefen]

I think it shows wales as the same thing as england because we conquered it, however this is outdated

also scotland is not in its own circle so it looks like englands part of scotland

[Stopper]

also scotland is not in its own circle so it looks like englands part of scotland

Which is correct.

[Serbia]

As you can see with my location, I'm from Australia.

First of all, Australians do not talk the same as Steve Irwin or the Crocodile Hunter.
Not all of us say 'Mate' and "G'day", or 'bloke'.
Not all of us like the beach, or bbq's (I do though, just speaking about my Vegetarian friend)
Not all Australians like meat (as stated before).
Not all of us like AFL (If you know what that is), Cricket, Rugby, League, and blah blah.
We don't just sit around, having a barbie, drinking beer. I hate beer.

If you wana know anymore. Ask.

We know, not everyone in a country is going to be representative of the whole population... after all, here in the States we have Hillbillies.

And I'm from Detroit, USA, for the record.

[Backglass]

Not all of us say 'Mate' and "G'day", or 'bloke'.
Not all of us like the beach, or bbq's (I do though, just speaking about my Vegetarian friend)
We don't just sit around, having a barbie, drinking beer. I hate beer.

I work for an international company and have had the opportunity to travel to over 20 countries. As a result I have met, hung out with and befriended many wonderful people from across the globe.

As a joke we took a couple of visiting Aussies out to the "Outback Steakhouse" one night, a cheesy Australian themed restaurant we have here in the US. They laughed their asses off at the stereotypes like "Blokes & Sheila's" on the bathroom doors (they said you would probably get your lights punched out if you called somebody a "Bloke" in an Australian bar). They were also shocked that they had no "true" Australian beer other than Fosters. They said no self-respecting Australian would EVER drink Fosters as it is generally considered swill down-under and you would get laughed out of a bar if you asked for it. Kinda like walking into an American bar and saying "Bartender! Give me a Old Milwaukee Draft!". Ahhh...marketing!

[Balsiefen]

also scotland is not in its own circle so it looks like englands part of scotland

Which is correct.

of Course it is

[Numia Kereru]

Next time you see your Prime Minister just mention that it might not be too fair if he does pump more money into Rugby... give everyone else a chance!

Oh no, the Government shares the tax money equally amongst all sports. It's just that all the major businesses sponsor mainly rugby teams and development of the sport. Also, NZ Rugby receives a fair bit of funding from international sponsors who visualise our natural, raw talent in the sport as a certified positive return on their investments. It is largely because of this that we were able to create the International Rugby Academy right here in our own backyard, where rugby hopefuls from around the world are sponsored by their nations to travel here and study under some of the best international rugby players and coaches the modern game has ever seen.
Because our national team has been one of the best in the world since the sport first began, it's like a religion here.
It tends to polarise quite a lot of people here though - they either love it or hate it!

Me? I've been playing rugby since I was 5. I played last season aged 29. I think I'll give this season a miss, I'm too unfit lol

[luns101]

This brings up a good point about how we identify ourselves through sports.

I'm guessing the English & Europeans here would identify themselves more through soccer [yeah, I know you don't call it that over there]. Would cricket also be on that list?

Australia and New Zealand would probably identify more with rugby (let me know if there are others).

The Canadians here play a variety of sports, but I think they would identify more with hockey. I love hockey personally (Chicago Blackhawks) but it hasn't caught on here as much as I would have liked.

Here in the US, we are basically a 3-sport country: Basketball, American Football, and Baseball. My personal favorite is American Football (NFL). My team (Chicago Bears) made it to the Super Bowl but we were defeated by the Colts, which is my brother's team and I still haven't heard the end of it.

I want to bring the Canadians in on this one as well. Why do you guys have to have your football fields so stinking huge!! And I guess the Canadians can just do whatever they want to do as far as backfield motion goes. Must be nice.

[Numia Kereru]

Australia and New Zealand would probably identify more with rugby (let me know if there are others).

Rugby
Rugby League
Netball (women)
Cricket

I believe those are all the major sports here in NZ (other Kiwis please feel free to add to that list if I neglected any). The sports that get most of the prime television coverage, anyway.
There are several other sports we engage in, like Touch Rugby for instance, that are really popular here but just don't get the coverage or funding required to make them mainstream.

We also love basketball and softball. We have a national basketball league with a lot of US imports - I guess they're the players that don't get big contracts when they leave college. Our softball team (Black Sox) are three-peat World Champs since 1996.

[gethine]

in wles i would imagine that rugby union is regarded as top sport, followed by football.
boxing is still popular, especially with joe calzaghe going for his twentieth world title defence.

[Numia Kereru]

in wles i would imagine that rugby union is regarded as top sport.

I can totally believe that. NZ and Wales have a shared rugby history dating back to our first match against each other in 1905 (which Wales won 3 - 0), as well as several hard-fought (and sometimes controversial!) matches over the years since.

[gethine]

met lomu when he was playing for the blues last year. he is massive. and fast. and intimidating. but a nice bloke.

[Numia Kereru]

met lomu when he was playing for the blues last year. he is massive. and fast. and intimidating. but a nice bloke.

He really is a good guy.

I hope he makes a great comeback and even gets to put on the black #11 jersey with the silver fern for NZ again some day soon.

[heavycola]

met lomu when he was playing for the blues last year. he is massive. and fast. and intimidating. but a nice bloke.

He really is a good guy.

I hope he makes a great comeback and even gets to put on the black #11 jersey with the silver fern for NZ again some day soon.

Lomu was SO good to watch. Impossible to forget that photo of a young Mike Catt squatting, terrified, as Lomu just runs him over. i think it's where the term 'Maori sidestep' came from hehe

[Numia Kereru]

lol, that's an example of the fabled Maori sidestep in it's purest form
Straight up the guts lol.

I never get sick of watching that clip of Jonah running over poor Mike. What's even funnier is that Jonah had actually tripped over his own foot before he even got to Mike, so sort of 'fell' over Mike. I think Mike may have given Jonah enough of a cushion to stabilise himself enough to carry him to the tryline

edit: if you get a chance to watch the clip somewhere (YouTube?) you'll see Jonah begin to stumble after a previous failed tackle attempt on him, as he approaches Mike on the wing. You'll also see fullback Glen Osborne trotting alongside Jonah (like a good support player should), laughing his arse off after he sees Mike get stomped on!

[Genghis Khant]

lol, that's an example of the fabled Maori sidestep in it's purest form
Straight up the guts lol.

I never get sick of watching that clip of Jonah running over poor Mike. What's even funnier is that Jonah had actually tripped over his own foot before he even got to Mike, so sort of 'fell' over Mike. I think Mike may have given Jonah enough of a cushion to stabilise himself enough to carry him to the tryline

That's one of my favourite rugby moments too. It's up there with Scott Gibbs charging into, and through, Os Du Rand to score a try in the Lions tour of South Africa ('97?).

Of course, the best rugby moments all involve Wales scoring tries against England, like this one.

[skaterpunk]

I want to bring the Canadians in on this one as well. Why do you guys have to have your football fields so stinking huge!! And I guess the Canadians can just do whatever they want to do as far as backfield motion goes. Must be nice.

I think it's more exciting with a bigger field. I like the NFL, but wouldn't it be cool to have big end zones like they do. The wide receivers would have more room to run, and there might be more scoring.

[Numia Kereru]

It's up there with Scott Gibbs charging into, and through, Os Du Rand to score a try in the Lions tour of South Africa ('97?).

That is another legendary run, that one! Gibbs was the cornerstone of that Tour, without a doubt.

Of course, the best rugby moments all involve Wales scoring tries against England.

lol, I'll back that statement on behalf of my fellow countrymen (the non-England supporters, anyway). Personally, I hate Johnny Wilkinson. Not as a player or a person, just the role he played in winning the last World Cup. He didn't do anything against our team. Hell, we lost to Australia in the semifinals; that's gotta say something!

[beezer]

I don't want to start an argument over which is better...soccer or American football, but I just want to know if anybody outside of the U.S. at least has watched a game.

We do get a couple of people from Australia who have experience playing Australian rules football to play the position of punter over here in our NFL. I can remember when Darren Bennett played for the San Diego Chargers over here. It was cool because there was a finally a punter in the NFL who would actually go after the kickoff returner.

[luns101]

I don't know if they get the whole 1st down, 2nd down, etc. etc.

I know the Canadians do. They just seem to want to play with this huge field compared to ours. I remember Bennett, and I also remember him getting screamed at because he didn't play like a traditional American player. Yes, he would go after the kick returner, but if he missed then the other team would score.

But in general, I love it when the Australians come over here to play. They bring a different mentality to our game, which is cool.

[btownmeggy]

I have a question.

In my country, we drive on the right side of the road. I've also noticed that often times on a sidewalk or pathway with lots of foot traffic that people will stay on the right side. Not as a hard and fast rule, of course, but in general.

In foreign lands where people drive on the left side of the road, do people WALK on the left side of the sidewalk!?!?

[Genghis Khant]

I can't honestly say that I've noticed, but here's some trivia for you. The reason why we drive on the left comes from ye olde days when people travelled on foot or on horseback. We kept to the left so that people would pass by on our right, the sword wielding side.

[Jolly Roger]

I don't know if they get the whole 1st down, 2nd down, etc. etc.

I know the Canadians do. They just seem to want to play with this huge field compared to ours. I remember Bennett, and I also remember him getting screamed at because he didn't play like a traditional American player. Yes, he would go after the kick returner, but if he missed then the other team would score.

But in general, I love it when the Australians come over here to play. They bring a different mentality to our game, which is cool.

Maybe the size of the field has something to do with metric? They also need extra room out there since each side has 12 players on the field. Who knows really? Are there really any good reasons for the size of any playing field in any sport or are they pretty much arbitrary?

[gethine]

on another note we have a legal drinking age of 18. if it was raised to 21 our economy would collapse.

[Stopper]

on another note we have a legal drinking age of 18. if it was raised to 21 our economy would collapse.

And if most teenagers actually waited until the legal drinking age, we'd be in a depression.

[Genghis Khant]

on another note we have a legal drinking age of 18. if it was raised to 21 our economy would collapse.

If people obayed the law and waited till they were 18, the economy would suffer.



"...Gwad feirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri..."


-edit- great minds...