KEY POINTS:
The Rugby Union says "lessons were learned" when a Mexican Wave got out of hand at Waikato Stadium on Saturday evening, but banning the crowd from getting in on the act would be an impossibility.
Last Saturday's rugby test in Hamilton was on the verge of being called off after plastic bottles began to rain down on the Canadian try-scoring zone during the second half of the match.
This forum debate has now closed. Here is a selection of your views on the topic.
chris
Mexican wave? That's interesting. It was first done in America years before it was done in Mexico. And heck no.
Carl
Mexican waves make going to the rugby or cricket more of an enjoyable experience, best thing since sliced bread really.
Loud cheering student (Hamilton)
I was at the rugby game in Hamilton on Saturday in the Greenzone area. As a student, it is the best place to be at a rugby game because it is where people are expressing their love of the game more than anywhere else! I mean the other areas are quiet and boring usually, there is no cheering and chanting going on. There are always a great number of students in the Greenzone because it is the cheapest area in the stadium and there were also families with children. Maybe the bottles being thrown in the air and landing on the field are a problem but the Mexican wave is the only form of cheering where the whole stadium participates. Empty bottles are not that dangerous but if you think they are, there are other solutions: maybe instead of plastic bottles which are bad for the environment, could use paper cups that don't fly as much or other things. As a student, I know banning the wave would not be a solution and it would kill the atmosphere of going to watch the game. If you want to be boring, stay at home and watch it on TV!
Grownup
It's not the Mexican wave that's at fault, it's idiots who can't control themselves or act like adults. They're going to throw stuff whether they 'wave' or not. Hooliganism is a 'plague' of the 21st century, so how do you stop aspects of crowd behaviour that you don't like? Maybe you should just ban people from the venue instead!
Anti-Social Football Hooligan
It's funny, I always thought you went to watch rugby, cricket or what ever. Never entered my head that the idea was to jump up on command of drunken hoons and throw litter (something that can earn a sizeable fine outside of the ground). Perhaps the attention level of our sports fans needs a little work if they can't handle a quiet moment or perhaps Rugby is the boring game I always thought it to be . .
Angeljen
It's sad that people find it necessary to throw things when a mexican wave ripples through the crowd. Whatever happened to throwing your arms up as most of us do? I like the Mexican waves it can be a lot of fun but I just don't agree with throwing things. I was at a blues game and my nephew got hit on the head by a full bottle of soft drink. There were some pretty amazing waves at a recent concert I attended in Auckland and I didn't see one bottle or piece of rubbish being thrown where I was it went around about 8 times and was a blast.
Rose (Waitakere City)
Is it really about the wave or the bottles? The reality of the day is more sports and entertainment functions are banning bottles or at least removing lids off the bottles, being 'weapons of mass destruction'. So why not serve all drinks in varying sized quality plastic cups (ie small, medium or large) with smart logos, sponsors, venue name or function attending (ie concert name) on the cup and to reduce waste and packaging allow a rebate when reusing the cup for a refill. If its done right cups will be taken home as a memorabilia and the clean up job will be easier. Too often the tip of the iceberg is addressed and not so often the underlying issues.
Crusty (Cambridge)
I was at the game & predictably as the All Blacks failed to impress the normal moronic wave started.It was an insult to the Canadians who were on the verge of scoring try number 2 & a pain for those of us that wanted to watch a game.The security did nothing ,&the true fans just had to withstand the bombardment before the announcer stated that as bottles were getting onto the pitch, play would stop.No problem that non wavers were getting rained on then .The I.R.B. may take a different view in 2011 I suspect.Wavers please stay at home in future!
Philip W
Ah, the key part is at the bottom "when the game got boring" and you'll find this is the case at cricket as well, the game gets boring the crowd entertains itself. However, the throwing of stuff in the air is not appropriate, and frankly it's sad that adults cannot got to a 90 minute/2 hour event without the need to feed and drink.
countryboycityslicker
Hmmmm Mexican waves have all the enjoyment that helps sporting events go from being simple orderly event that it would otherwise be planned as, to a great family night out with children learning about the excitement of why it is a part of NZers rugby/sporting culture. On one hand are we not allowed to have fun on these occasions? Of course we are, that is part of the entertainment. However on the other it is only a small group which ruin it for the others. Why not stop plastic bottles and give them the punter a plastic cup light weight? We just need to be smarter about the tools that are handed to the punter. This I'm sure will be better overall for the safety of others. Attendance for our national game is already down why send it further down the toilet cause of some fools.
