Kiwi Humour

Something really should be said about the irreverent humor of the Kiwis.  They are hysterically funny and often baudy. The low brow humor here is infinitely more intelligent than the low brow stupidity that often passes for humor in Texas.

Even the Prime Minister is funny.  If you read my comments about him in Politics, you are going to get the idea that I have a crush on the PM.  Maybe I do. He is no Vladimir Putin (the quintessential macho leader type) but he is funny.  And in a country like NZ, that is an important quality.

I can talk and tell you all about how hilarious the Kiwis are but why listen to me?  This isn't a 1985 letter home---this is the internet!! And I can SHOW you some funny Kiwi stuff.

This first video is made in support of the New Zealand rugby team, the All Blacks.  Before you ask, I have absolutely NO idea why they are called "All Blacks"--they aren't all black. In fact, I don't think any of them are "black" but a few are brownish.  They wear black so maybe that is it?  In the U.S., teams are usually named after a mascot of some sort.  Not here apparently. And the All Blacks mascot is a fern leaf.  Go leaves?  I can see why they decided to name themselves after the colour of their jerseys.  Which brings up an interesting point of difference, in NZ, it is customary to say "Go the All Blacks."  See that "the" in there?  Yeah, I have no idea why they use that but they all do it.  In Texas, we never say "Go the Cowboys" so it is just too awkward for me to embrace.  Which is fine really, I just stay away from sports in general and I have no problems.

Also, there is a vast amount of rivalry between New Zealand and Australia.  No, NZ and Australia are not the same country.  Australia is a big continent next door with 20 million people. NZ is kind of like Australia's Canada.  We have little man's syndrome too.