Gregor Paul: US lesson remember the heroes

Israel Dagg of the All Blacks. Photo / Getty Images

The big lesson the All Blacks have taken from the USA is in the area of legacy. No other country pays tribute to the past like the Americans: no other country keeps its sporting history so alive and relevant.

The All Blacks thought they did, and in some ways they do. They have a deep understanding of the values tied up in their jersey.

They talk of passing through, of not owning anything but being custodians charged with leaving the team in a better place than they found it.

The players know about the great men that went before them and they understand that the best way of preserving and enhancing the All Black legacy is delivering quality performances.

All good, but there is no physical way for the rest of New Zealand to share that history. There is nothing tangible to experience other than attending tests.

That is not the American way, as some of the All Black management discovered when they spent much of Wednesday with the NFL's Chicago Bears. Now there is a team that understands how past achievement can be used to engage a current audience, a team that understands that links to the past must be liveable and interactive - promoted, accessible and encouraged.

It is not assumed that those who grow up in Chicago will naturally gravitate to the Bears.

The next generation of fans has to be won and the club's legacy is an invaluable tool. At the Bears' training base, a whole building is just about exclusively devoted to interactive displays of past players, coaches and great moments. Anyone can revisit the best and worst of times and in half an hour, gain an insight into what the club as experienced over the years.

Equally noticeable was the immediate knowledge and understanding most Americans had of the San Francisco Giants World Series victory that same night.

The Giants won their third title in five years and the volume of context that came with that was staggering.

New Zealand is not as connected or as determined to chronicle sport in the same way. Which is a shame, because the All Blacks have a history so rich with heroes and success that it seems almost criminal that the only way the public can share it is by paying $100 for a test ticket and another $200 for a replica shirt.

It's a shame because after someone such as Keven Mealamu finally calls it quits after, who knows, 140 tests, his name will appear in minuscule letters on a board at New Zealand Rugby headquarters and that will be the only footprint he leaves.

And what about Richie McCaw? He may retire the greatest player New Zealand has ever had. He may be the man who leads the All Blacks to consecutive World Cup victories. While he remains the captain and part of the team, he's a national treasure. But a few years after he stops playing, what then?

How long before he's just some old bloke that used to play a bit of footy - his legacy alive only in the minds of the older generation who got to watch him in his prime.