Twenty years ago, when Otago won the one-day competition, captain Warren Lees described it as a victory for the region.
‘‘We feel as though we have won something for the whole area,'' he told the Otago Daily Times shortly after John (Straw) Wilson lofted the ball back down the ground for four to seal a two-wicket win over Northern Districts in front of a crowd of 4500 at Molyneux Park.
‘‘We hear so much about falling population, the problems with the economy. It's nice to be able to turn around to the rest of New Zealand and show them we can still do it down here.''
David Lange was the Prime Minister and Roger Douglas pulled the financial strings.
Unemployment had reached 100,000, New Zealand Post closed 432 post offices, interest rates were through the roof and people were leaving in their droves for the warm sands of Australia's east coast.
The win was a much-needed tonic for the area and helped lift people's spirits, if only for a day or two.
Two decades on and the country is not in the same desperate pickle as it was in the late '80s, although interest rates are on the rise and people are still fleeing our shores looking for greener pastures across the Tasman.
And sport, one of the threads that helps stitch a community together, does not seem to have the same hold on people. Increasingly it appears to be more about generating revenue than it is about socialising, fostering good health or uniting a community.
Athletes are not as anchored to a province and much of the parochial nature has been lost.
But for those stalwarts who support a team through thick and thin, and the sportsmen and sportswomen themselves, there is still no greater thrill than sharing in success.
Otago's comprehensive seven-wicket win in the State Shield final against Auckland on Sunday allows us all to dip into the well and bask in the glory. The province has had precious little sporting achievement to celebrate as of late.
No-one mentions how long it's been since we've held the Ranfurly Shield or of the parlous state of Highlanders rugby.
The knives have been out for the franchise for the past couple of seasons and you can almost hear the North Island sharpening them again on the back of three consecutive losses.
The Rebels won the franchise-based netball competition in 1998 but in the following nine years steadily deteriorated.
The Southern Men and Southern Storm hockey teams have struggled, Otago United is finding the going tough in the football league and the Otago Nuggets have been consistently poor since the late '90s.
Otago cricket went through its lean years, too, but in the past three seasons has been a force to reckon with in the limited-overs competitions.
It made last year's one-day final but was well beaten by Auckland at home.
Inconsistency almost cost it a shot at the title this summer. Had it not been for a wonderful innings from former Otago wicketkeeper Gareth Hopkins to rescue Auckland in the last round-robin match, the Volts would have sat out the business end of the competition.
That was the last slice of luck Otago needed. From then on it got by with grit and some sensational batting by Brendon McCullum.
A tenacious effort helped see it hold on for a narrow four-run win over Northern Districts in what was a virtual quarterfinal and in the semifinal some tight bowling by Nathan McCullum and superb batting by Brendon McCullum helped steer the team into the final.
Up against an Auckland side that included Black Cap spearheads Kyle Mills and Chris Martin and all-rounder Scott Styris, Otago was positioned as the outsider, the no-names and battlers from down south.
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, Otago is a stronger unit collectively than the sum of its parts and, Brendon McCullum and Craig Cumming aside, it does not have the household names of some of the other sides.
But there is real talent across the board. It is unheralded players like Bradley Scott, Warren McSkimming, Nathan McCullum and Aaron Redmond who will ensure this Otago team is remembered fondly in history's annals.
And a generation on from the last famous victory, this Otago team has done as much to restore a sense of pride in the region as Warren Lees' men did in the golden summer of 1987-88.
