Benny, the Manawatū Jets mascot, is popular with all ages. Photo / Stepney Sports Photography
Benny, the Manawatū Jets mascot, is popular with all ages. Photo / Stepney Sports Photography
OPINION
As soon as I walked between the two tiers of seats and entered the stadium, I knew it wasn’t cricket.
The players looked like they had leg extensions. They were banging into each other and sprinting as if being chased by a cheetah.
Then there was the music. SO LOUD. Not like in cricket, where the music stops as soon as a bowler starts their run-up. The beats went on as the Manawatū Jets and Wellington Saints dribbled, threw, leaped and scored at Fly Palmy Arena on Sunday night.
“It’s kind of like netball except it’s exciting,” an enthusiastic American sitting next to me quipped.
He had a point as I’ve always said netball is like watching paint dry, except when I played it as a schoolgirl and wished the painted court would disappear. I was taller than my peers but all I cared about defending was my glasses and one bleak Saturday I lost that battle too.
It’s quarter-time already and MC Azania Pekepo has the kids busy winning prizes. Basketball’s equivalent of tennis ball kids is sweat mopper-uppers.
Benny the mascot (think Elton John’s hit Benny and the Jets) is obviously no kid but he has the energy of one – and the cheekiness. At one stage he took off his Jets uniform and ran around the court with just his white suit on. The chasing security guard dropped his walkie-talkie. Great fun.
Azania, Benny and the DJ added to the already-infectious energy and enthusiasm the crowd and players were emitting.
With the Saints at the top of the table, it would have been a big ask for the Jets to win but they did get better as the night went on, losing 82-107.
Growing up in Taranaki in the 1980s, I looked up to the Saints. I know next to nothing about basketball but everything about the team seemed glamorous: the names, the height, the Americans. Good giraffe, I sound like a woman during World War II.
When the Saints got down to their scoring end on Sunday, I was puzzled as the home crowd started to chant “defence, defence”. What about “get the ball in the hoop at the other end”? Not so catchy, of course.
“Give them some turbulence, Jets fans,” Azania instructs as those in the know bang their fans (the cardboard kind).
There’s lots of sportsmanship as opponents extend their hand to players on the floor. I’m sure they could get up themselves but it would look ungainly.
As I adjusted to the sensory overload, I began to appreciate the skill on display. Saints player Lat Mayen moves like a gazelle. The South Sudanese-Australian professional, who played last season for the Cairns Taipans, is 206cm (6ft 7in) tall.
It was a tough night for Manawatū Jets head coach Natu Taufale on Sunday as his team went down to the Wellington Saints but the vibe was top draw. Photo / Stepney Sports Photography
The chatty American next to me had high praise for Manawatū Jets head coach Natu Taufale’s focus on people and culture. I was fascinated that Saints head coach Zico Coronel dresses like he’s in the boardroom.
I had no idea what the referees were signalling with their hands as they blew on their whistles but boy/girl do they need to run fast.
The huge crowd for autographs after the game – the players provide the pens – and the smiles on the kids’ faces said it all.
It was my first professional basketball game and as I left I momentarily felt like I could fly, was a tad windblown and ready to get home to my mini tiger.
Judith Lacy has been the editor of the Manawatū Guardian since December 2020. She graduated from journalism school in 2001 and this is her second role editing a community paper.
