Divided by the petty, united by the big
Last updated 05:00 26/02/2011
OPINION: Turns out I was wrong, writes Nathan Burdon in this week's Straight Up.
A couple of weeks ago I castigated New Zealanders in general following the immature reaction to the Halberg Awards.
It felt at the time like the country had been divided by an argument over whether the All Whites deserved to be our supreme champions from what had been a very good sporting year.
Boy, that all seems a bit silly now.
And while I was disappointed with the petulant, sneering attitude that many displayed over the Halberg furore, the outpouring of support and genuine empathy for the people of Christchurch this week has restored my faith in this fair country.
New Zealand's only a little nation and the Christchurch earthquake is a big disaster.
All of us will be called on to play a part in the rebuilding of Christchurch and its people.
That's right, that's fair. No-one should quibble at that.
As a sign of a maturity I doubted we had obtained, the correct decision was made to abandon tonight's Super Rugby game between the Hurricanes and Crusaders in Wellington.
If there has been any serious opposition to that decision then I'm yet to hear it, and that's a good thing.
Families must be put first in these most distressing of circumstances.
Sport seems like such a trifling thing at times like these.
It's a luxury, an extravagance, but it can also lift the spirit in times of difficulty.
» Nathan Burdon has been the Southland Times sports editor since 2003 and has won numerous journalism awards, including provincial sports writer of the year.
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