All Whites heroes must now help grow game in NZ

PROFESSIONAL football is a funny thing. Reputations can be built and lost in the space of 90 minutes. And that is the dilemma now facing the Phoenix's returning All Whites.

Heroes to the nation after ensuring New Zealand's return to the world's biggest sporting stage, they have the opportunity to either enhance or dent those reputations as they line up against the Newcastle Jets tonight.

With the spotlight on football more than ever before, the heroic All Whites will be under the microscope, expected to perform, more so than any of their other Phoenix team-mates.

But those expectations won't in any way be negative. Fans will want them to continue their fine form. Paston, Brown, Bertos and Lochhead, names that have been forever etched into the history books, have awakened a new love for the game among our youngsters.

It is the thousands of kids who were at Westpac Stadium last weekend and the thousands more that watched the game on the TV who will be expecting to see their heroes perform miracles once again. So, for that very simple reason, if nothing else, the celebrations and congratulations need to be put to one side.

There is a lot of responsibility resting on the shoulders of these players to help grow the game among our youth and retain their newly found "hero" status. Thankfully, in that group you've got men with a good grasp of reality that have an understanding of the magnitude of that result against Bahrain.

I read a quote from Tim Brown this week where he basically said that the win, while great, doesn't make them any better players than what they were a week prior to the World Cup qualifier. Quite true! The Aussie teams in the A-League won't be standing off in awe of our World Cup heroes. If anything those boys will be targetted.

The thing the Phoenix has in their favour, though, is that they are a very tight and supportive group. Last weekend I saw those outside of the Kiwi players were genuinely ecstatic with what their Phoenix team-mates had achieved. That did surprise me somewhat. Like many professional environments, not just sporting, jealousy and resentment can creep in when others achieve higher accolades, let alone something great. That is certainly not the case within the Phoenix dressing room. That speaks volumes for exactly why they have been so hard to beat this year. There is spirit and belief in abundance.

While coming back to the weekly grind of the A-League could very easily be an anti-climax for the returning All Whites, I think it will galvanise this team even further. The Phoenix players will be more than happy to live off the reflected glow of the All Whites' victory for some time. And so they should. Football has a chance to make big headway into the sporting psyche of our nation. It's never ever going to be the No 1 sport but it can certainly have a place as one of our most dominant and well supported.

The Phoenix still have a role to play in that becoming a reality. That's why, whether those that played in that historic match last weekend thrive or struggle to come to terms with returning to the A-League, expect to see their mates around them stand up and help carry the weight of expectation.

Danny Hay is a former All White

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