An occasional series in which the blogger celebrates the birthday of a great - or, at least, interesting - person. Ewen Chatfield
Cricketer
July 3, 1950 -
I know, it seems like sacrilege that the photo I have posted of "Charlie Chats" is one of him sans moustache.
No-one rocked the mo' quite like the Naenae Express (funny name considering he wasn't really fast) in the 1980s.
And no-one could have played a better straight man to Richard Hadlee's rock star. He trundled in, day after day, doing the shit work while Paddles took all the glory.
Ewen Chatfield was a very good bowler. He played 43 tests, claiming 123 wickets at the decent average of 32.17.
But we loved him because he seemed like a bloody good, ordinary bloke. Read this line from his Wikipedia profile:
"Since retiring from first-class cricket, Chatfield has had a variety of jobs. He coached the Hutt Valley association until they merged with Wellington, worked in a chip shop, was a courier and drove a van for a dairy. He also mowed lawns, and as of 2009 works as a taxi driver in Wellington."
An occasional series in which the blogger celebrates the birthday of a great - or, at least, interesting - person. Merata Mita
Film-maker
June 19, 1942 - May 31, 2010
I have this theory that all New Zealanders MUST view all of the following:
1. Outrageous Fortune, Series 1-6: Because it proved we can make telly as good as anywhere in the world.
2. Goodbye Pork Pie: The funniest, most free-spirited movie we've ever made.
3. Bad Taste/Meet The Feebles/Braindead: Peter Jackson was a great film-maker long before Lord of the Rings.
4. Once Were Warriors: Powerful with three capital Ps. Will break your heart, lift your spirits AND kick you in the guts.
5. Patu!
No 5 probably doesn't have anywhere near the profile of the first four, and that's very unfortunate. It is, quite simply, the best - and most powerful - documentary ever made in this country.
It's the shocking story of one of the most shameful moments in New Zealand history, sporting or otherwise - the 1981 Springbok tour.
I first saw Patu! when I was a tertiary student, and I was stunned. The images of barbed wire, shields, police batons and common New Zealanders being beaten up for protesting the visit of a team from a racist regime were seared into me.
Using just the images - my memory deserts me a little but there is either no narration or virtually none - director Merata Mita presents a gut-wrenching view of the tour.
The story of how she made it is fascinating enough. Many of her camera operators were themselves the victims of violence, and had film ripped out. She struggled to find funding support. Much of the footage had to be sent overseas for safekeeping.
Later in her career, Mita helmed the film Mauri. But it is for Patu!, and her bravery in telling the story, that she will be best remembered.
An occasional series in which the blogger celebrates the birthday of a great - or, at least, interesting - person.
Vince Lombardi
American football coach
June 11, 1913 - September 3, 1970
"What the hell's going ON out here?"
Whenever I think of Vince Lombardi, I see that famous clip of him ranting on the sidelines and uttering that quote.
Lombardi is regarded, by many, as the greatest coach of all time. He was the heart and soul of the unique, community-owned Green Bay Packers franchise, winning five championships, including the first two Super Bowls, in the 1960s. And that was after inheriting a run-down team.
He was an angry Italian (plenty of those around) who flogged the shit out of his players and expected rigid disciplinary standards to be followed.
A nice description of his status came from the great Shirley Povich in the Washington Post after Lombardi's death:
"Football was his power base but beyond his coaching skills he could qualify as one of the remarkable men of his time. The thickset figure of the latter-day Lombardi may have bespoken the rugged product of the football field, but there was vastly more. He was football coach, lecturer, philosopher, tough guy, moralist and practicing patriot who without blush put his voice atop that of the crowd in singing The Star-Spangled Banner.
"Football writers, in noting the scope of Lombardi's coaching triumphs and his complete command of his players' loyalties, dwelled often on the Lombardi mystique. At this he scoffed, ascribing all spiritual powers only to the divine, in which his own belief was complete. But others persisted in the belief in his special powers of accomplishment."
Lombardi was also a master motivator, and his legacy includes some great quotes:
- Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.
- Fatigue makes cowards of us all.
- It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get back up.
And finally, for all those who think scores in junior sport should be capped:
- If winning isn't everything, then why do they keep score?
