White-out steals Santa's show

BY KELLY BURNS, STACEY WOOD AND FRED WOODCOCK

Don't throw away the boilersuits and white wigs yet.

Footy-mad Wellington is already working on scoring another All Whites match before our new sporting heroes head to South Africa for the football World Cup.

New Zealand's biggest football crowd of 35,194 on Saturday night ensured a "white-out" of Westpac Stadium, pumped an estimated $7 million into the city's economy and created never-before-seen euphoria as Rory Fallon's forehead and keeper Mark Paston's hands cemented the All Whites a place at the World Cup finals – the first time in 28 years.

With the home team up 1-0 and with 10 minutes to go, large chunks of the frenzied crowd adopted a Wellington Phoenix fans' tradition and took their "shirts off for the boys" swinging them around in a shimmer of white.

Then, as spectators spilled out on to Wellington's streets, the city came to life – cars tooted, people cheered, strangers hugged and pubs and bars were filled with the chanting of fans showing the effects of football fever.

While packed bars reported one of their busiest nights this year, police experienced an average night – a symptom, they said, of the good mood of the fans.

The players were a late entry into Wellington's Santa parade yesterday, turning it into a victory parade and leaving Santa playing second fiddle.

Santa may have been sidelined, but the jolly fellow did not feel he was being overshadowed.

"No, they complement me," Santa Claus said as his float began its ride through downtown Wellington. "I'm excited – it's the best day of the year."

The match is estimated to have drawn 15,000 visitors to the city, filling its hotels.

At least two money machines on Lambton Quay ran out of cash in the run-up to the game, while retailers faced a frenzy as fans stocked up on All Whites kit.

Ryos general manager Phil Gorman said it had been chaos, with the store selling out of All Whites jerseys on Friday. And 200 people in the shop waited for a delivery of 100 scarfs on Saturday – it was first in, first served, and they sold out in seven minutes.

Mayor Kerry Prendergast, hoarse from helping cheer the team to its 1-0 victory over Bahrain, yesterday vowed to do all she could to see another match played in the capital.

New Zealand Football chief executive Michael Glading also voiced his approval, saying such a match would be played in Wellington "in an ideal world".

But he warned he could not make promises – there is only one two-day midweek window early next year for an international match to be played, possibly against China or Australia.

Kevin Fallon, dad of goalscorer Rory and assistant coach of the 1982 team, the only other All Whites to make the World Cup, said the story was almost like a fairytale.

"If you were pitching a script, and you had the old coach's son scoring the winning goal, it's almost too Hollywood. It's almost like it's meant to be."

- © Fairfax NZ News