KEY POINTS:
Sailing away, the old Kiwi anthem for the Auld Mug, is ancient history. This year, it's all about man-love.
The catchy No Man Love tune is being pitched as the new Team New Zealand anthem after the campaign's managing director, Grant Dalton, called for the sailors to restrain any "man love" urges until the final victory.
With actor Michael Hurst singing, the song is reminiscent of something sung in the sheep-shearing shed.
Inspiration hit the Clarke Newton advertising agency's Gordon Clarke and Craig Newton, and composer Jason Smith, as they watched the Emirates Team New Zealand men win five-nil against the Italians to qualify for the final.
They saw the team's back-slaps, and a couple of high-fives, among the more sedate handshakes. They heard managing director Grant Dalton tell media there was a bit of "man love. Just a little bit".
And within three days last week, a song was written, a composer put together music, a singer was secured, a website registered - for messages of "staunch" and manly support - and the song was recorded for worldwide release.
"When Grant Dalton crossed the finish line and said 'no man-love' - that sums up what NZ is all about in sport," explained Clarke, who wrote the lyrics. "He was saying 'let's not get carried away with victory because we've still got another five races to go'."
And it was then the men realised there was something missing. "It's unusual that in this competition, which is harder to win for us, that there hasn't been something out there, a rallying cry of support," said Craig Newton. "I felt empty. We're filling a gap."
* www.nomanlove.co.nz.
