Skip forward a couple of generations to Richie McCaw winning the Rugby World Cup and sheepishly stepping up to the winner's dais telling us it wasn't a bad effort.
It was left to the ebullient John Key to show the excitement, fighting his way into a three-way handshake.
So with that in mind, think about how our America's Cup heroes reacted to their seismic win in Bermuda.
Man of the moment Peter Burling was like a young Sir Ed, a thoroughly dedicated young man obviously, but emotion clearly isn't part of his DNA which is probably why he knocked that bastard Jimmy Spithill off.
The Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton was moved to remark that he'd never hugged so many blokes, which just goes to show how emotional he was.
On the political front we had Bill English in his lounge at home, adding to the carbon footprint with his blazing woodburner, with one of the family videoing him for the Twittersphere.
Clenching his fist at the telly as they crossed the line with a contrived "yes," even though they'd won the race long before the finish line, followed by a slow clap, was about as good as it got.
Why on earth he couldn't have been down at Wellington's Port Nicholson Yacht Club with his Sports Minister, cheering along with the 150 enthusiasts, is yet another golden political opportunity lost.
Then there was our purse string puller Steven Joyce, who kept the strings tightly pulled when Team New Zealand came looking for dosh a few years back, rejoicing on what has become the political platform of Twitter. So early in the morning, being in a suit and tie was at least a bit impressive.
Auckland's Mayor Phil Goff showed all the enthusiasm of a bank in receivership when he was told, live on television, that the next regatta would be in his city.
He complained about the cost, saying they're more concerned with building roads and other infrastructure.
Come on Kiwi winners, start acting like them!
