Thanks Yellow Fever. Thanks Wellington. Thanks AWs

Thanks Yellow Fever. Thanks Wellington. Thanks AWs

The last few weeks has been an incredible journey for me, as I am sure it has been for many of you. But without any doubt the ride would not have been half what it was without the input and support of Yellow Fever.

As I have mentioned many times before, I am not what I would consider a "football fan", nor were many of the friends that I encouraged along to the game with me. But on Saturday night we were as fervent as any fan at Westpac Stadium - and in the streets of Wellington afterwards. �Traitor� from YF said on the night after seeing us jump around and cheer on the walk home that he loved seeing this "new generation of football fans".

You guys have been incredible and I applaud you all for your wonderful and undying support and passion for the teams you support, as well as the way you do it. I would never have been as drawn to the game and occasion had I thought for a moment it was going to turn nasty had the All Whites lost on Saturday. The spirit of sportsmanship and football appeared to be alive and well in Wellington on the weekend, and what a splendid and unforgettable event it was.

My apologies for not being brave enough to join you all in waving my clothing around from the 80th minute. It was one of my few regrets on the night but I was with you all in spirit from aisle 30. What an amazing scene you guys created with your sea of twirling white. Absolutely unforgettable along with everything else before, during, and after the game.

The reason I wanted to be there on Saturday was that IF it was to happen, I wanted to be able to say to my son that we had shared in that piece of history. And they bloody did it!!!!! Marvellous!!! My son already wants to be a goalkeeper and I suspect NZ will be flooded by a wave of kids wanting to keep goals in the next few years...

I doubt I will be able to afford to head for SA next year, and may not be able to make it up for he possible All Whites fixture next year (may be overseas at the time) but I will seriously consider the trip up to Christchurch to see Phoenix FC in February if I am not working.

Thanks. Thanks for showing me the beautiful side of passionate football support. Thanks for drawing me into the hype and excitement of this amazing fixture. Thanks for the many virtual and real life comraderies that you and your forums have created.

Thanks too from the new football fans that joined me on Saturday night. They would not have been there had it not been for my asking them, and they enjoyed every second of the game (except perhaps those between the Lockhead tackle and the Paston save). Hopefully they will get along to some 'Nix games in the future.

Finally, to Mr. Bahrain and any Bahrainis that are reading these forums, my sincere commiserations to you and your country. I know how much this meant to your country because of how important it meant for ours. Thank you for being so passionate but friendly supporters that can be our friends before and after the game regardless of the final result. Thank you for teaching us how to be gracious in defeat, that we may be just as gracious in our future success.

I have met so many of you over the past few days and hope one day our paths can cross again, insya Allah (God willing). See you in 2014 when insya Allah both our teams can compete at the World Cup together.
If you haven't already clicked away out of this wall of text, then watch this space for an extended blog/diary account of the weekend that I plan to write for posterity.

Yellow Fever. Cheers for everything. Go the All Whites. Go the 'Nix. Go Yellow Fever!
ahmad2009-11-16 22:09:57

On behalf of Yellow Fever, yay you (and we apologise for Feverish, generally).
Smithy2009-11-16 22:11:08

Great Work. Well said mate. 

Yeah, well said. I met you on the walkway after the game if you remember Ahmad? Got in a photo with your excellent banner!

Well done ahmad, you've added a lot to the forums over the last few weeks, and that banner is world class, keep it forever.

So hope you consider yourself a football fan now.

Tune in to iraqgoals.net or sky to watch more Pasty-tastic action with the nix and you can wave your shirt in the warmth and privacy of your home (and because they are night games from now on, your kids need never know)

ahmad = legend. You were on tv at the street parade too Feverish2009-11-16 22:23:15

and your banner got an extended showing on 3 news tonight when they talked about how much we would "gain" from winning the match!

Quality post and nice summary of I'm sure exactly how a lot of people are feeling....

Have to agree Ahmed, great work by the Fever Exec for keeping everyone sober....I mean focused and for sorting merchandise opportunities for decent prices and generally giving us this forum in which to chat, cheer, discuss and plan.....along somewhere for the ideas to blossom...

Shirts off for Greenie, News, Smithy, Buckle, Frankie, Normo, Cnut, etc.....

Magical weekend, and in the end the words of the banner were incredibly apt.

I'm finally at home now, but not before a final public displaying of the banner at Dunedin airport.

My son handed out sweets on board the Air NZ flight but (incredibly) noone in the front section of the 122 seater plane really showed much interest in his signed AW team shirt and "fern" temporary tattoo on his cheek. So I didn't exactly feel any degree of "football fever" in Dunedin enough for me to whip out the banner.

However on landing we bumped into some friends and got talking about the game. So I thought "what the hell" and whipped out the banner and yelled out "All Whites!!!" across the departure lounge to the smiles of waiting travellers. Our friends commented that they had seen it on TV lol.

My son's tattoo should have been cleaned off yesterday along with mine after the victory parade, but he wants to keep it on until school tomorrow.

Fair enough!

class post Ahmad...

nothing brings people together like football!!!

Had the pleasure of meeting you twice.
Good on you, you have added a lot of class to this site, I hope the boy enjoyed the game,. You and your son are very nice people.
Your banner was top notch, best in the stadium. It will be worth a lot of money in years to come if you decide that is what its future is..

Consider yourselves Wellingtonians. You are always welcome in this city.
Its so nice to have so much love on here for once.
Oh god, Im welling up!

You are the second person to hypothesise over how much I might be able to sell the banner for today

It wasn't only the banner worth money - the home made "fern" flags also that I made for the kids in our group also could have been a business opportunity. We had people coming up all day asking "where did you buy your flag from?". I reckon if I had made 100 of them I'd have sold them all on Saturday. Missed opportunity as stated elsewhere in the forums - didn't see a single flag for sale on Saturday in town or at the Stadium.

Anyway the point is that the flags and the banner were not, and are not for sale  As a friend pointed out, the banner is prominently displayed in the 2 pivotal moments of the match, and these are clips that will be preserved forever in NZ football archives.

The banner will be treasured along with a planned scrapbook documenting the amazing weekend we had meeting players and supporters from both countries.

Mate I haven't had a chance to thank you yet for the cable ties you provided which proved absolutely essential in that wind tunnel.

Sorry we weren't able to meet but thanks for your kindness in helping out a fellow fan but stranger all the same. Would never have been able to do it without your help.

As I had some spare I gave some to the girls that put up a banner next to mine to let your gift keep on giving.

this is what a fan base is all about! it might sound gay but this is by far the best forum for sport in australasia. Pearl Ford might have to lift his game as he is now second(did anyone see him on saturday??) There's so much bitchyness on other forums and everyone always gets stuck into each other.. Have to say Wellington and YF have really lifted there game. I came up for the Goldenballs extravaganza which was awesome and you all were awesome to back in the old backbencher days!! But from what I can tell this was ten times better! it's awesome to have fellow nutters about sport who are truely passionate and live and breathe this stuff!!!! bla bla bla

Class 

(I'm still a bit too la-la to add much more I'm sorry)

Hi everyone. 10 days on and the goodwill and generosity continues. This occasion has really touched me in that it seems to have brought out the very best in everyone caught up in it and I hope that this touchy feely sh*t continues to ride the wave for a long time.

Cheers to axxaa, liverpoolfan1, cronus, smittyz11, and everyone else who has helped out a complete stranger known to them only via an anonymous internet forum. May the almighty force of that thing called Karma be on your side, and I hope one day I can repay your generosity.