Joe Kiwi is a fairly relaxed kind of guy......most of the time. He doesn't get in a flap - his sense of humour is dry. If he hears a funny story, he'd rather smile than laugh. Yes, I'm stereotyping like mad, but these are my observations.
Joe Kiwi is NOT an Aussie. The Aussies are New Zealand's biggest rivals in almost everything, whether it's beef exports, netball, attracting the tourist dollar or rugby.
If there is any country Kiwis hate losing to at anything it's Australia.
So what could drive unflappable Joe Kiwi into such a state that he could commit the heinous crime of calling New Zealanders Australians? Let's see.
Can you spot what's wrong with this sports headline from Stuff?
Here's the corrected headline posted around 12 hours later:
You've got it - haven't you? This was the score-line of a rugby international in which New Zealand had just been beaten narrowly by Australia.
In the immediate aftermath of the defeat, Stuff's typesetter was apparently so upset that he put up a headline showing the Wallabies (Australia) had beaten themselves. He committed the twin crimes of:
a. describing the All Blacks as "Australia" and
b. making an error in a sports headline.
But hold on, I hear the conspiracy theorists cry. Maybe this wasn't a mistake. Maybe the typesetter deliberately decided he'd much rather see a score-line showing Australia beating themselves rather than New Zealand.
It's certainly possible.
I don't know the true explanation but I do know that New Zealand's major online newspaper carried an obvious error for a considerable period of time.
Only a rugby defeat could drive unflappable Joe Kiwi to such an error because, to many Kiwis, rugby is not just a sport; it is one of the biggest things in their lives.
That's worth remembering.
