NZ’s sporting JFK moments

The Guardian has a list of six JFK moments, the ones so significant that the where-you-were and the who-you-were-with is tattooed (JFK moments are often painful) permanently on your brain.

So what are New Zealand sport’s JFK moments? Here’s a few to get started, and where I was at the time; get into the comments and tell me what I’ve missed.

1930 Phar Lap wins the Melbourne Cup – not born

1956 All Blacks beat South Africa: “I’m absolutely buggered!” – not born

1960 – Peter Snell wins in Rome – as above

1983 Graham Thorne presents the Cricket from Australia with a perm – watching sportreview sr. pissing himself laughing, not fully understanding what a girlyman ex-All Black Thorne was making of himself on the national box with this unexpected, bold hairstyle choice

1985 Coney and Chatfield hold out Pakistan at Carisbrook – bouncing up and down on the couch in Hamilton, about as excited as a 12 year old could be

1995 “The America’s Cup is now New Zealand’s cup” – down at the Viaduct, in its pre-Viaduct incarnation at 8am on a Sunday morning, with half of Auckland, seemingly

1999 The greatest fucking Rugby comeback of all time – in a Cricklewood flat in cloud of stunned silence with a mate. We didn’t go to the pub to watch, assuming we’d be there next week for the final. I’d spent about eight months talking the All Blacks and their ‘fast, mobile’ pack up to work colleagues. The croissant on my desk on Monday bought a lump to my throat

2006 Tana Umanga’s handbag goes for twenty odd grand on TradeMe – at my desk, head in hands, rocking gently back and forth

Author: Richard Irvine

Welcome to sportreview.net.nz - here's a bit about the site. Here I am on Twitter, or email me at richard (at) richardirvine dot com.

6 thoughts on “NZ’s sporting JFK moments”

  1. Fuck, I’ve missed heaps – thanks for the great suggestions, team. The second 2005 Lions test was a good ‘un too.

    How about the Waikato v Boks match being called off in 1981? Chris Lewis’ semi final v Kevin Curran or Alison Roe + Rod Dixon winning the New York Marathon too.

    Related question – did the 1980s get more that their fair share of JFK moments?

    JJ, I came *this close* to bursting into tears when Loader won that gold, embarrasingly. Not sure what was happening there.

    I fully did BIT listening to a Radio Sport replay of Waddle’s commentary of Hadlee taking his world record wicket at Lancaster Park (another JFK moment) in the car by myself one time. Must make that therapy booking one of these days.

  2. I went to that RWC semi-final. Easily the worst day of my life. Umanga should have been shot afterwards, along with Hart for playing Cullen at centre.

    Add Kiwi winning the Melbourne Cup, the All Whites vs China playoff game, the AB’s beating Sth Africa in Sth Africa for the first time in 1996, Alan Hewson kicking that penalty to beat the boks in ’81, the underarm ball from dirty Australian Trevor Chappell to our mighty Brian McKechnie and John Walker winning the 1500m in ’76. Magic moments.

Comments are closed.