David Leggat: Advance Australia Fair - it's time to get those earmuffs

Funny how things have a habit of sneaking up on us.

Here we are rumbling through the early rounds of the Super 14, pondering the prospects of a 3-zip test series romp against the West Indies to follow a clean sweep in the ODI rubber ending at Eden Park today, preparing for the Warriors to start off at -4 in the NRL in a week.

But what's that coming over the horizon, draped in something which looks a bit like our national flag but isn't, and making plenty of noise?

Why it's the Commonwealth Games, with Melbourne, the self-styled sporting capital of Australia, doing the honours this time. (And finding a modest Melburnian during the Games will be as hard as finding a member of the David Benson-Pope fan club.)

Remember when these Games really were something? Time was when the four-yearly jamboree was known as the Empire Games. But the world really was a different place in so many ways back then.

At the Athens Olympics two years ago, a New Zealand journalist was sitting within earshot of two chaps, one an elderly Englishman, an old brigadier type, the other a middle-aged Canadian.

They got to chewing the fat about Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Both clearly had had some official involvement over many years. The Englishman had been to every Commonwealth Games since World War II.

And which one, asked the Canadian, was the best?

Without hesitation came the reply: "Christchurch. 1974. Marvellous."

Remember Dick Tayler winning the 10,000m to give those Games a stunning start? Moments after he crossed the line, arms flung wide, he disappeared from the television screen, and lay exhausted, exhilarated on the track. The greatest sporting flop in New Zealand history.

Remember John Walker chasing a fleeing Filbert Bayi round the Queen Elizabeth II Park for four laps on a hot, sunny afternoon, both breaking the world record?

Two memories which, thanks to television, have been etched in the pantheon of Great New Zealand Games' Moments.

The Melbourne Games have rather slipped in the back door, in part because there are several other sports matters jostling for attention. And partly, you suspect, it's because the Games just aren't what they used to be.

Just as the world has changed since the days of Empire, so has the Games' place in the scheme of things.

In the international quality pecking order, they are certainly below the Olympic and world championships, not to mention regional gatherings of the European, Pan-American and Asian variety.

The standards in several sports are ordinary (that's not putting the boot in; just take a glance at the statistics), although there's the odd exception like bowls. More and more it has taken on a quaint feel, more a friendly sporting coming together rather than a collection of cutting-edge contests.

But these Games should retain one element of its predecessors. They'll be fun. Why? Because thousands of athletes from round the globe who will never get close to an Olympics will get an opportunity to test themselves on an international stage.

Okay, so the Indian swimmer standing on the blocks beside Ian Thorpe isn't about to pull off a staggering upset, but it's all about the spirit, you see. Camaraderie, friendship and so on. A good thing too in this increasingly greedy, I'm all right Jack, world of ours.

There won't be many world records in Melbourne. Take away the pool and those Aussies, and that might be it. But that's not really the point.

The Aussies have decided to give Advance Australia Fair precedence at the opening ceremony over God Save The Queen, even though the woman remains boss of the Commonwealth and she will be in the building.

Typical. As if we won't hear that dirge enough during the 10 days of competition they're going to shove it down our throats at the earliest convenience. Best get used to it.

* And finally, to put a full stop on the Winter Olympics, the best joke to come out of it.

How many snowboarders does it take to change a lightbulb?

Ten. One to screw in the bulb, one to video him doing it and eight to stand about sighing, "Awesome, dude".