Ladies & Gentlemen...the All Blacks.

The All Blacks are New Zealand's national rugby team.  We're headed to an All Blacks game here in Dunedin on Saturday and felt that we should proactively share a little about the All Blacks with you.

Imagine if the entire United States rooted for the same team.  That's the place the All Blacks hold here in New Zealand.  While there are lots of rugby, netball, soccer, etc.etc. teams, the All Blacks are the team that the whole country is behind ALL THE TIME.  The All Blacks rugby season lasts from June through November.  The team members are selected each year and may play on other rugby teams in the All Blacks off season.

To the non-rugby crowd, probably the coolest thing about the All Blacks is the Haka.  Right before every game starts, the whole team does the Haka.  Haka is the Maori word for dance, and the one the All Blacks do is a challenge Haka.  They are challenging the other team, and it's kinda scary to watch.  They DO NOT mess around during this dance.  This is the Haka that they did this past Friday in their test match versus Ireland.

You can read more about the Haka and see more videos by clicking here.  It's even in the main image on their website.

I think the other most interesting thing about the All Blacks is their name - a) because it kind of catches you off guard when you're from the politically correct USA and b) because it seems to have driven the names of all the other national teams in New Zealand.

First, the name.  According to the New Zealand Rugby Museum, there are many stories of how the name came to be.  The most well-known is that there was a typo in an English newspaper.  They meant to print All Backs (some rugby term I guess) but accidently printed All Blacks.  The other main story is that an English reporter started calling them the All Blacks because their uniforms were all black except for the small silver fern. 

Second, the names of some of the other national teams.

• Mens Soccer: The All Whites
• Womens Rugby: The Black Ferns
• Netball (women only): The Silver Ferns
• Field Hockey: Black Sticks
• Mens Cricket: Black Caps
• Mens Softball: Black Sox
• Womens Softball: White Sox

All of Dunedin is ready to welcome the All Blacks to town for the game against Wales. Most of the storefronts are decorated with signs and supports of the team.  This game is the last game at Carisbrook, Dunedin's stadium, as a new stadium is opening here next year in time for the Rugby World Cup in late 2011.  Saturday is going to be crazy, and we're psyched to be going to the game. Vanessa is less psyched, but she's being a trooper on our behalf. Our tickets are for the Terraces which is where all the students are and there is a high probability that something will be spilled on us or thrown at us.  Whatever.  We' here here.  We're being Kiwis.  We're going to the game.

Tons more information can be found at AllBlacks.com.