Besides, I hasten to add, didn't patriotism give rise to the Donald Trumps of today?
Maybe I'm egotistical. Okay if the cap fits, I'll wear it.
I can't help it if I moulded a rugby fantasy template that has so far come pretty close to what unfolded in a tour series, which I declare has eclipsed a Rugby World Cup final.
You know, to forecast that the team who adapt to what the referees stipulate will prevail; point-scoring kickers are crucial; shoulder charges are a no-no and, ditto, impeding runners approaching those rising for up-and-unders, etc.
Oh and let's not forget rugby will be the winner when the All Blacks lose.
But the All Blacks have lost and, guess what? They remain firm favourites to win today even though you'd never guess it when listening to coach Steve Hansen's rhetoric.
Never have I heard an All Black coach say " ... life tells you we're only playing a game" although Israel Dagg did when putting perspective on why vertigo-afflicted fullback Ben Smith wasn't playing last Saturday.
Damn, there's the fine-print escape clause, akin to an insurance policy, on the outcome of today's mouth-watering series finale that rugbydom will talk about for decades.
It may be just a game but eyepatch-wearing fans will press the pause button on life's remote control to make up their own minds on where rugby is at as a global entity.
I'm not sure if the International Rugby Board (IRB), the code's governing board, wants to see rugby gravitate to an "obscure" corner of the world tonight.
After all, it has taken four nations as a composite side to get under the skin of the back-to-back world champions, who were reduced to 14 men for the best part of the test. Therein lies the measure of the men.
For now the IRB won't mind sporting the priceless expression Trump had on his face when Polish first lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda broke from tradition to snub him for an awkward handshake with Melania Trump first.
So how do we make America ... err ... the Men in Black feel like they're great again?
The parochial fans, it has been mooted, must come up with a chant that drowns out any renditions from the sea of red at Auckland's Eden Park tonight.
Come on, the fans did admirably well at the Cake Tin in Wellington in the second test to try to influence the referees' decisions.
I'm all for any game allowing the great unwashed to interact because therein lies the future of any sport.
An astute Hansen endorses that, even though he probably takes fans' advice as one would pat a friend's dog and leave it at the gate as he moves on.
That Lions fans are seeking autographs from ABs also speaks volumes of the tourists, who have won the hearts of many - but just don't anyone say the Lions will win tonight.
Until I interviewed Hansen in person at Wairoa College last year I didn't appreciate his sense of affinity with humanity, although it still makes me go "mmm" when he attempts humour.
Again, how often do you find an ABs coach reassuring a media scrum that they have the confidence to do the job?
That's understandable when the subject evolves around a backline who look like college rugby graduates, akin to Lions lock Maro Itoje, in a test arena.
His faith in developing the likes of Jordie Barrett, Reiko Ioane, Ngani Laumape, Anton Leinert-Brown and Damien Mckenzie is commendable and progressive.
Just as Lions coach Warren Gatland did it his way, Hansen's gamble will rightly be learning more after a loss than if they carried on the mundane path of victories year-in year-out, considering most nations tend to focus on the World Cup only.
I reiterate, gamesmanship will be the difference tonight. The line between bravado and brain fade is much finer than people want to accept.
Subtlety is advised when the blokes pull out their knuckle dusters. Shoulder Bill Williams and Mako "The Hitman" Vunipola need not apply in a game where it seems as if neither team will care if they lose.
Vunipola is the pack leader and the ABs need one. Jerome Kaino, it seems, assumes that mantle and it was badly missing last Saturday when he was sacrificed for Laumape after SBW's red card.
Frankly, more important than Kieran Read's milestone of 100 tests is the ABs' need for someone who can be the frontman - like Mick Jagger fronting the Rolling Stones or Bob Marley headlining The Wailers.
Just remember, though, delirious fans will have the last say after the TMO has had his share of rock-and-roll performances on the big TV screen at Eden Park to determine if those who bring mongrel are heroes or villains.
