In 1999, the omen was clear: They painted the props the wrong way round on the side of a 747. Small fry to the casual observer - an albatross around the neck for any serious rugby fan.
In 2007, adidas had AllBlacks digging up bits of dirt from all around the country to make one big footy pitch. We were lucky not to have an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease ... although Wayne Barnes' whistling in Cardiff was pestilence enough for our nation.
Now it's 2015, and Israel Dagg is rapping in an Air New Zealand safety video. What were they thinking!? Who signed off on this?!
If the All Blacks return from Britain in a couple of months time without the Rugby World Cup in their carry-on luggage, then Snoop Dagg's starring role alongside Stan Walker will come to be seen as the harbinger of doom. "Remember how arrogant they were," people will thunder, the veins in their foreheads twitching in rage. "They had Israel Dagg rapping to the tune of Men In Black!"
I'm generally a fan of the Air New Zealand safety videos - and I'm a diehard fan of the All Blacks - but last week's video release has rattled my delicate pre-World Cup nerves.
A Rugby World Cup is no laughing matter. It's not a bit of a giggle - like Hobbits, Bear Grylls or Sports Illustrated's bikini models. A World Cup is seriously serious. It's about as funny as - well - a plane crash.
I wish Air New Zealand had left this can of worms unopened and my nerves unjangled.
