Risque NZ Supporters’ Shirts Steal the Show
17 March 2006
By MARK GEENTY
MELBOURNE: The ‘Black Cocks’ are back. New Zealand’s badminton supporters raised eyebrows and had the Melbourne public giggling yesterday as they unveiled their new black t-shirts and caps blaring out the team’s controversial, unofficial nickname.
Eighty t-shirts and caps have been flown to Melbourne and were donned by the players’ parents, siblings, friends and officials as the team beat Kenya 5-0 in their opening Commonwealth Games match.
"Black Cocks: Expect Big Things," is emblazoned on the back of the t-shirt while the caps carry equally subtle messages: "Not A Soft Option" for the men or "Nobody Likes To Come Second" for the women.
The nickname was coined last year as the quirky object of their sport, the shuttlecock, gave them the leeway for a risque approach.
It created a stir and Badminton New Zealand decided not to officially adopt the name, but the team were keen to continue with it and a Hamilton clothing manufacturer climbed on board.
Doubles player John Gordon, whose Games dream was ended a month ago when he ruptured his achilles tendon, proudly wore his t-shirt in the stands yesterday and even his parents followed suit.
"That’s one good thing about being a supporter, you get to don one of these great shirts and a hat," he said.
"It’s certainly quite interesting wearing them through the Melbourne town. We’ve had a really good reaction from people and I think we could make some money out of it.
"Plenty of people have offered to buy them so I’ll be selling mine to the highest bidder.
More…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3606089a15977,00.html
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