SPORTRITE - Shock omission: We're not on top-cities list

With Tim Eves
SOMETIMES that new fang-dangled interweb computer thingy, where people you don't know write really nice things like "Hot girls love you long time" and "Hi honey, where you been", can be quite enlightening.
In between the invitation to pass on intimate banking details and offers to improve the action in even more confidential areas by simply handing over a credit card number and consuming a little blue pill, little gems arrive.
It came as a complete surprise, for example, that Alexandra Cheboskary has a thing for "mysterious success (sic) man like yourself with many ambition (sic) and beautiful country". Man, these Russian women know how to do their research.
Nice bikinis too.
It did not come as a huge shock however to be informed, by an unsolicited email, that Melbourne had been crowned as the No1 city in the world to hold a sports event.
Just when the crowning coronation ceremony was going to take place was not abundantly clear, nor were we told on whom the bejewelled tiara would be plonked. But some bloke called Shane Parsons from Mango Communications reckoned "you might be interested in this extraction".
This "extraction" said Melbourne was the best place on the planet to do sport, then went on to list other places it was good to play around (er, if you know what we mean) in order of precedence.
Now, as dedicated Northland sports aficionados with that kauri tree heart thumping with Cambridge blue pride, this may come as a shock, but Whangarei was not mentioned.
Nor was Kaikohe, Kerikeri or Dargaville.
Don't be too alarmed though, Christchurch didn't make the cut either. Auckland? What, are you a comedian? How about Wellington then? Welly who? Nah, not in the mix.
Crikey, don't these people know where the Rugby World Cup is in 2011? Hadn't they heard of how great the V8s will be in Hamilton and how Christchurch is so flash they will host the Auckland Flower Show?
This conversation is plainly getting ridiculous, so we will get to the meat of the story, which is how the judges arrived at the Melbourne decision.
"What makes a really successful and memorable event is when all the parties have understood why they won the event in the first place and why they subsequently put it on," explains Jon Wigley, from the judging panel.
"Once they have understood where their priorities lie and then make sure that everyone involved from athletes and officials through to spectators have had the best possible experience they can, so that a city or country can show its best side possible to the world, then that's a successful sports event in my opinion."
Wigley believes it is not just about technical excellence, but the city itself is an incredibly important factor when it comes to putting on a successful events.
The city has to have the intention of inviting the world into its home and showing the best side of it. Cities need to put on their real faces and say, look, this is our culture, this is how we have fun, remember us and come back.
Now there may be a few justifiable arguments about comparing apples with orangutans. Seething metropolitan epicentres like Melbourne have an edge over rural villages like Whangarei.
But the intent and ambition to be something significant remains the same.
Why can't Whangarei have the intention of inviting the world into its home? I sense real pride in our culture already. We sure know how to have fun, so why don't we try to make people remember us and come back?
Maybe because we have a dilapidated sports stadium, no hotels to put anyone in, a council more intent on fanciful pipe dreams than funding real developments, and a small town siege mentality that has seemingly infiltrated every portion of our community.
So long as nobody wants to share and while everyone is trying to build their own little kingdoms, Whangarei, et al, will never pique the interest of people like Mr Wigley who allocate sports events of any consequence.
Not even if we emailed him with an offer he could not refuse.
* TOP-10 CITIES
1. Melbourne 2. Berlin 3. Sydney 4. London 5. Vancouver 6. Paris 7. Tokyo 8. Los Angeles 9. Madrid 10. Hong Kong