How weird is it watching provincial rugby live almost every night of the week?
Many hard-core rugby fans will be loving this over-exposure to their favourite game, but can you get too much of a good thing?
Have we hit saturation point with regards to our national game?I have to admit I'm struggling to keep up with the constant flow of rugby being offered in endless smorgasbord fashion. I can't believe I missed seeing the Samoan team beat the Aussies. That was one game I definitely would have loved to have watched live.
The 2011 rugby season literally is a telethon event, and just when you think nothing interesting is going to happen, it does.
I'm happy to say I didn't miss watching the Manawatu Turbos open their ITM Cup season with a win against Hawkes Bay.
We couldn't have asked for a better start to the season and their win has renewed my delight in the game.
Am I alone in this enthusiasm? Perhaps I'm biased because I'm the Turbos' professional development manager and my partner is the assistant coach!
What that suggests, however, is that unlike Super rugby, a greater number of people around New Zealand are likely to know someone who knows someone who knows someone in a premier provincial team.
And that is what saves the ITM Cup from being a second-class brand in the sea of rugby products on offer. They say if you watch soaps such as Coronation St or Shortland St long enough, you'll get addicted and treat characters like members of the family who you have to catch up with regularly over a TV dinner.
The ITM Cup already has its fair share of characters and plot lines providing drama early in the season.
The villain character has been fulfilled by Luke McAlister, who went AWOL from North Harbour trainings for a few days. Although he has since apologised it still looks like someone spat the dummy and didn't get the reaction he was expecting from his parent bodies.
As a result he was quickly put in the naughty chair and told to say sorry.
Then there are those characters making a welcome return after a long absence from our screens and fields.
We'll call them the long-lost cousins who have come back with renewed passion for the provincial game.
Tony Brown and Kees Meeuws spring to mind as cuzzies we welcome back with an eyebrow lift and open arms.
They add an element to provincial rugby that it has been lacking for a while, and that is wisdom. What they lack in speed and agility, they more than make up for in been-there-and-done-that leadership and full use of their top two inches.
To keep things exciting and breathtaking, along come the new kids on the block fresh from their world under-20 domination in Italy or undiscovered until now.
They add moments of daring brilliance and sometimes utter stupidity that only comes with having that bullet-proof attitude we all once had in our youth (before we faced disappointment and failure one too many times).
A balance of youth and experience is still the golden ticket with regards to teamwork. There are teams we expect to do well, like Canterbury (nothing seems to suppress their resilience), and then there are those teams we'd like to do well (our own teams).
What more could you want in a product? I'd like a selective mute button on my remote titled "Justin Marshall" but you can't have everything you ask for, I suppose.
The rugby season may be great for entertainment, but one thing it isn't great for is relationships. The ITM Cup season is hectic, and affected family members will probably see more of their partners, husbands, fathers and sons on television (on the field or in the crowd) than they will in the flesh.
Don't get me wrong. There are also crazed female fans of the game who will move hell or high water to support their favourite rugby team, and Rugby World Cup organisers will love that, as they're hoping this passion spills over to their event in September.
If you haven't seen your significant other after seven weeks of chaotic travelling, previews, games, reviews, recovery and trainings, there'll be the Rugby World Cup to compete with.
When that time comes, you'll see them in the flesh but they won't see you. All they'll see are 15 men in black attempting to break the jinx that has haunted them for years.
Just as well there's Coronation St, Shortland St and Rugby St to keep you company for the rest of the year!
