Paul Lewis: Seeing red over jersey

All Black Mils Muliaina in action last year. Photo / Getty Images

It was interesting to watch the traditionalists of the nation draw an outraged breath and then vent against the idea of changing the silver fern on the All Black jersey to red at the Rugby World Cup to commemorate the victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

It was a simple idea, with a simple execution but it drew the indignation of many. The jersey was sacrosanct; the fern determinedly silver and not to be messed with; not even the Christchurch tragedy can shake the foundations of the black jersey.

It was an insight into a country which, growing and more worldly though we are, is still small enough to view the All Blacks with a sort of religious respect.

Times have changed, of course. The definition of religion and religions has become blurred. It was only 10 years ago that some in Britain succeeded in a campaign to get an extra religion added to the likes of Buddhist, Muslim, Catholic and Hindu on the 2001 census form. The new religion? Jedi Knights.

But there are two main points to be made here: first, the horse of marketing decorum bolted long, long ago if we are going to get precious about All Black icons; second, the people of Christchurch probably need something a little more, well, practical than silver-to-red gestures.

Here's a brief list of official All Black merchandise, decorated with the same silver fern or similar All Black imagery: an All Black stubbies beer holder; tea towels; a lunch box; a teddy bear (with headgear); a teddy bear (without); car mats (yes, you too can put your feet on the sacred symbols ...); boxer shorts (comment withdrawn on the bounds of good taste); babies' bibs; barbecue aprons; and that holy of holies - an All Blacks barbecue glove.

I come from an age where you did not wear anything vaguely All Black. You had to earn the right. The thought of wearing an un-earned All Black jersey was anathema. No red-blooded Kiwi male would ever think of doing so unless he'd heard his name read out over the radio. It's like pretending to be a war hero.

I once, at an overseas rugby club, was taken to task by a fellow Kiwi for wearing what he considered to be an Auckland jersey at training. He thought I was trying to give the impression that I had played for Auckland. It was blue and white but it wasn't an Auckland jersey, as I pointed out to him. He was just lucky I didn't beat him to death with an All Black teddy.

But now you can see people, often tourists, wandering along the road wearing All Black jerseys, no matter how incongruous some of us find it. Whatever you think about merchandising, it is part of the age of professionalism.

There is all sorts of marketing psychobabble spouted about this stuff but merchandising is indisputably good at two things - alternative revenue streams (handy when you are trying to pay leading players enough to stop them sodding off to Europe) and building a brand; something crucially important to the survival and profitability of the All Blacks and the NZRU.

So merchandising is here to stay, even if some of us would rather swallow razor blades while dressed in a tutu and being forced to listen to Cliff Richard's collected hits, than wear All Black boxers.

Merchandising will far outlast my distaste for seeing a large gentleman from somewhere clearly not New Zealand, wearing an All Black jersey straining to contain his protruding paunch and over which he had apparently dropped the remains of his eggburger.

The red fern wasn't a bad idea, but my feeling is that the people of Christchurch need something a little more, ah, concrete.

The Minister of Sport, Murray McCully, and the Prime Minister, John Key, were apparently both in favour of the red fern - although the Government has much bigger fish to fry.

Key even said that the All Blacks had changed jerseys before to reflect major events. Oh, yeah? When was that?

This is election year - so gestures like the red fern give the impression of a Government which cares about Christchurch. And I'm sure they do.

Commemorations are one thing - the tragedy will never be forgotten - but the living need help. There is the naked frustration and helplessness of business owners who couldn't get into their premises after the earthquake. There are people still living without basic amenities.

Through the stoic response are now being heard cries of : 'What's happening?'. This Government needs to show it is moving fast to get on top of what is an admittedly enormous task; which could bounce emotionally out of control unless they are being seen to act quickly.

My sister's Christchurch house has cracked foundations but they are one of the lucky ones - they can still live there and no one died.

They still haven't been seen by any insurance people from the September earthquake and it's looking like it'll be approximately another ice age before anyone gets to them after last month's efforts.

"There's always someone else who needs it [help] more than you," she wrote the other day, "and we are grateful for that".

She also wrote about the aftershocks: "Christchurch was a zombie land. No-one had slept. The aftershocks were strong and continuous and frightening. No-one went to bed in pjs or naked, for that matter.

Everyone kept their clothes on. Some people still sleep in their clothes. People live in running shoes, just in case they need to run.

"As people find a moment to reflect with friends and family, they realise life is time with the people you love, not the containers of broken belongings in your garage. The housework doesn't take long. Dusting is a breeze, quite literally for some who have no walls."

The red fern starting to sound a little inconsequential to you?

The people of Christchurch don't need red ferns. They need remedial action. Fast.