The Super Bowl highlights American football’s global reach and financial scale, contrasting with New Zealand rugby.
Kiwi athletes like George Holani show New Zealand talent is in demand in the NFL.
There is growing interest in American football for Kiwis, offering education and financial opportunities.
By Hoani Smith and Dion Enari
Watching the Super Bowl final yesterday, it’s impossible to ignore the glitz, glamour, global reach and sheer financial scale of American football. The spectacle isn’t just about sport, it’s about entertainment, identity and opportunity on a scale rugby in New Zealand simplycannot match.
Are we in New Zealand slaves to the rugby dream? Have we become so attached to the idea of the black jersey that we fail to ask whether it is still the best – or even a realistic – pathway for most of our young athletes?
Is there a future for New Zealand in American football? Looking at New Zealand-born athletes who have cracked the NFL, college system or professional American pathways shows us that talent developed here is transferable, adaptable and in demand overseas.
These athletes didn’t abandon their Kiwi identity; they leveraged it. Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl winner George Holani and others who were born here and have played in the NFL, show us we can.
Although many Kiwi youngsters dream of being an All Black, that dream is statistically narrow, brutally competitive and financially limited.
For every player who earns a long-term professional rugby career, hundreds fall out of the system with little support, few qualifications and lasting injury.
Is it time to ask whether the All Blacks dream is overrated – or at least oversold – and whether we should be encouraging young athletes to cast their net wider across global sport markets?
George Holani, of the Seattle Seahawks, carries the ball in an NFL match against the Los Angeles Rams. Photo / Getty Images
Looking at the increase of American football camps coming to New Zealand and Australia, alongside a growing number of New Zealand schoolboys heading to the United States, it’s clear there is an emerging market for Kiwis to play American football. This isn’t a fad, it reflects active recruitment, scholarship pipelines and international demand for the physical traits New Zealand athletes already possess: speed, strength, work ethic and coachability.
It’s also a sport where (before they even turn pro) many college athletes earn more than New Zealand’s top-paid sportspeople. The real advantage lies in education and long-term security; there is access to world-class universities, fully funded degrees, elite facilities, global networks and exposure to the American system of business, entrepreneurship and professional sport.
Athletes like Ardie Savea have worn the All Blacks jersey with pride. Photo / Photosport
Looking at these opportunities, we must ask whether we are unnecessarily limiting our athletes by keeping them mentally and culturally confined to New Zealand. We should not assume that loyalty to the black jersey requires sacrificing financial security, education or global experience.
Our athletes deserve the freedom to pursue environments where they are valued, supported and fairly rewarded. With the rise in popularity of American football in New Zealand, this American dream may be something we watch on Monday afternoon – it may be something our athletes are increasingly positioned to live themselves. The question isn’t whether rugby still matters. It does. The real question is whether we are brave enough to admit that the All Black dream no longer has a monopoly on aspiration.
Dr Hoani Smith is a lecturer in Sport Management and Sport and Exercise Science at Lincoln University. His research weaves indigenous knowledge with applied sport science.
Associate Professor Dion Enari is an academic in Ngā Wai a Te Tūī (Māori and Indigenous Research Centre) and School of Healthcare and Social Practice, Unitec. His research interests include sport management, sport leadership, mental health and Pacific languages.
