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"It was amazing. Probably half the people in the stadium had never experienced that true football passion," said the Oceania Footballer of the Century.
"We had the 35,000 in white eight years ago. [I'm] pretty sure that the crowd will turn up with the same sort of passion."
Rufer, 54, is certain the All Whites can win today, in their first leg of the World Cup intercontinental playoff against South American powerhouse Peru - ranked 10th in the world.
He sees a similar connection between the current squad and the "really special" bond the 1982 players had under coach John Adshead and captain Steve Sumner.
"That's one of the big bonuses now as well with the All Whites, and what (coach) Anthony Hudson has done. And there's just that Kiwi spirit.
"You've got the superstars like (Burnley striker) Chris Wood and (West Ham defender) Winston Reid, they come back and it lifts the others as well to their level.
"It's brilliant, the whole situation for us right now is really perfect."
With the away leg just five days later in Lima, a win in today's home game is crucial for the 122nd-ranked All Whites.
"We're lucky that we've got enough experienced players who know about winning," Rufer said "The good thing is in the build-up to the game all expectation is on Peru. It's really good for us that we're the underdog. We can win."
Rufer expects a number of his teammates from the campaign to the 1982 World Cup - when football fever swept New Zealand - to be at Westpac today.
The gifted striker scored four times in three games for the All Whites in the campaign. He also found the net in the 2-1 decisive playoff win against China to put New Zealand into its first World Cup.
"I was a 19-year-old," he recalls. "It was a dream, just happening, unfolding for me."
Rufer, based in Auckland, has had a special football shirt made for today's game and will be all in white - just like thousands of other fans flocking into Westpac.
All Whites supporters group White Noise, which has released a song sheet for chants for today, has asked fans to create a 'White Out' in the Wellington stadium.
"Get a boiler-suit, hunt out the wedding dress, play doctor for the night, reuse the ghost costume from Halloween," White Noise's Tracey Hodge said. "Heck - paint yourself white! It doesn't matter what, it just matters that it's white."
The match will also bring the colour of money to the capital. An estimated $8m was reportedly expected to be pumped into Wellington. More than 40 percent of tickets snapped up from outside the region.
The 4.15pm kick-off scheduling was said to work well for cafes, restaurants and bars.
A report by one of Peru's leading current affairs programmes put the value of qualifying for next year's World Cup at US$1.3 billion ($1.88b) to the Peruvian economy. Peru hasn't qualified for FIFA's holy grail since 1982
Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, in Russia, is worth $11.64m to competing teams.
World Cup intercontinental playoff
New Zealand v Peru
Home leg at Westpac Stadium, Wellington.
Saturday, November 11, kick-off at 4.15pm.
Weather:
14c, cloudy and possible showers showers and strongshowers and partly cloudy TAB head-to-head odds: All Whites $4.75, Peru $1.70, draw $3.50
Radio Sport will have live commentary while nzherald.co.nz will live blog the game from 3.30pm.
