If the Black Caps, Black Sticks, Silver Ferns, Kiwis, Tall Blacks and All Whites were as good as the ABs, and as of Tuesday Team New Zealand, would we be so measured in our emotions?
I see the humour in a fan's post-test match remark after the ABs ground down the British and Irish Lions in Auckland last Saturday: "How do you know the Lions and their supporters have arrived at the airport? It's the only plane where the whining continues after the engines are turned off."
In the same vein as when belief mutates to arrogance, when does pointing out flaws in a game start sounding like whingeing.
Some will argue false modesty rankles with some people more than arrogance.
From where I'm sitting - and it's never on the barbed-wire fence - the tourists have taken rugby to a fever pitch level that was perhaps last noted when the All Blacks pipped France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park.
The 30-15 victory on Saturday showed the hosts' versatility but the level of concentration from the players during the white-board session at halftime confirmed the Lions had got their undivided attention.
Coach Steve Hansen and his Men in Black have kept intact their reputation as the yardstick of rugby supremacy.
Lions coach Warren Gatland's men had several opportunities to drag "Big Mo" into their corner but, it seems, got stage fright.
The likes of Liam Williams and Conor Murray suddenly looked up to see the try line metres in front of them but, instead of trusting their instincts to surge towards the chalk, found themselves looking over their shoulders for support even though Williams' sparked off the try of the test to dispel assertions that the tourists are devoid of flair.
The ABs, at times, looked rattled in the first half but had enough composure to find their mojo despite losing Ben Smith to concussion and Ryan Crotty to a series-ending injury.
Conversely the more changes the Lions made from the bench the more cohesiveness deserted them.
Gatland has every right to point out flaws in officiating that potentially could have been turning points.
For that matter, Hansen also has the liberty to rebut his counterpart's claims.
Were the ABs trying to negate the impact of halfback Murray?
Possibly and I don't see why that should be an issue but was it dirty or gamesmanship?
Aha, that boils down to who's looking at it and from which side of the fence when judging ABs flanker Jerome Kaino's 10th-minute charge at Murray's left leg when it was obvious he couldn't possibly have got to the ball because the halfback, with his back to him, had already kicked clear with his right leg.
It seems officials have to, akin to soccer, start interpreting body language. Does putting your head down to thwart play absolve one of any blame from a late charge?
Kaino, who has had "a million feeds" in his Twitter account for his lunge, vehemently denies skulduggery but the social media frenzy suggests fans are divided.
ABs lock Brodie Retallick got away with a 10-minute sinbin for what was undeniably a late charge on Murray in the 37th minute.
On Tuesday, Lions lock Iain Henderson was guilty as charged of an illegal tackle on Jordie Barrett despite a rollicking stint.
If, as a ruffled Hansen says, a guy is watching for foul play all the time then presumably it's fair to say the "citing commissioner" missed Retallick's act.
The other tackle that captured my attention was centre Ben Te'o on counterpart Sonny Bill Williams in the 41st minute of the test.
Frankly I couldn't see a lift or downward drive that referee Jaco Peyper saw but he's the johnny on the spot.
All that aside, the ABs deserved to win and the Lions have to make some tweaks.
Maro Itoje and Courtney Lawes in the engine room and utility back Jack Nowell will be a good start for someone who has a nose for the try line.
George North is big but he doesn't have Nowell's step in a team of bigs who desperately need steppers.
For the ABs, Julian Savea didn't do much and neither did Jordie Barrett but I can see the desire for a sexy promo on the Barrett brothers.
Oh, Ngani Laumape certainly put his hand up in the Hurricanes' stalemate.
That ABs should win is almost always a given but then there's the bigger picture - only when the ABs lose will rugby become winners.
Until then, Hansen and Gatland, please keep up the verbal sparring.
