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Mike Hosking: There was no mood to change Crusaders name

Author
Newstalk ZB ,
Publish Date
Mon, 2 Dec 2019, 9:46AM

Mike Hosking: There was no mood to change Crusaders name

Author
Newstalk ZB ,
Publish Date
Mon, 2 Dec 2019, 9:46AM

The Crusaders' move on Friday is a sign of our times.

And our times are not what they were, and many, including myself, would argue in not being what they were, the current view, mood and zeitgeist is a retrograde one.

The win is the name, the Crusaders name lives on, as it should. The shame is it was ever even considered for demise.

Of course, compromise had to be offered. You can't stand your ground anymore, you can't argue your point. And you can't because, you will be considered old world, or out of touch, or not woke enough.

So the branding changes, and in yet another sign of the times it comes with the obligatory Maori statement.

So in totality it has less to do with sport or rugby, but more about addressing what would have happened if they had argued they actually had nothing to do with March 15.

If they had argued that, all hell would have broken loose and we would never have heard the end of the angsties and hand wringers lamenting the state of the country and how we hadn't paid the appropriate homage to the victims, to the city, and to the country's reaction to a crisis.

If the Crusaders had come to these changes all by themselves, if March had never happened, then as you look at them on a bit of paper, they're not bad.

And to be honest the symbol and the branding is not as important as the name. But we are not here because of that, we are here because of political correctness, which, I am delighted to announce is coming, I hope, to a gradual end.

Last week in Australia they released a major piece of research into political correctness, and Australia are really us and we are really them, so the results should apply here.

And the vast majority think it's gone too far. It's over every age group, both genders, and every salary bracket. In other words, everyone.

So if that’s the case, the Crusaders acquiescence has been a fail. Because despite what they tried to tell you about a mood for change, or the old Crusaders logo being discussed and debated, that simply wasn’t true.

Until March 15 the Crusaders were just a Super Rugby team ironically not even representing Christchurch solely, but a decent chunk of the South Island.

They were the most successful franchise in the competition, they were an exemplar for success, for inclusion, and for community spirit. They did not cause the shooting, they didn’t inspire it, and they didn’t have anything to do with it.

They were innocent victims, latched onto by social engineers desperate for action and response to something they hadn't seen on our shores, and didn’t know what to do with.

None of this is the end of the world, they are still the Crusaders, and they’ll still be brilliant.

But they are victims of a time where logic and stoicism comes a distant second to the knee-jerk and woke.  

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