Crusaders horsemen

Last night was the first home match for the Canterbury Crusaders. The game was good (we won - woot) but I'm really only going to talk about the opening bit. It was low-budget and fantastic at the same time. I loved it.

First, they start playing this eerie music. With some searching this morning I discovered it's called Conquest of Paradise by Vangelis. It sends chills up and down my spine.

Then a man rides in on horseback through some make-shift castle gates they've put up in one corner of the field. He's all in black and holding up a sword. He's a Crusader! He does a lap of the field. Mad applause. He exits.

Then seven more horsemen enter the field through the castle gate. They're in red, the horses are draped in red, and they're holding up swords (the men, not the horses). They swing their swords around menacingly as they gallop around the field. When the horsemen come to our section, we clap and cheer. They do a few laps. They stop in front of each section and point their swords at the crowd. We love it and clap like giddy children. It doesn't get old at all - we cheer just as much every time they come to us. After a few minutes, they ride back out the castle gates.

In case you're having a hard time imagining it, I found some You Tube video. (Isn't it great how you can find anything on You Tube??) But keep in mind it's better when you're there live...

In this video, there's a Crusaders' sword in the middle of the field, pulled in by a tractor. A nice combination of symbols there - the viciousness of the Crusaders, a nod to the farming roots of the Canterbury plains people.

I suppose since last night was the season opener, they decided to do something more dramatic than the sword. There was no sword. A military helicopter did a pass over the stadium, which was kind of cool on its own, but then it came back and hovered high over the middle of the field. They threw out 4 ropes weighted with sandbags. Then 4 dudes in military fatigues jumped out, rappelling down the ropes. Once on the ground, they gave the 'all okay' symbol and then the helicopter flew away again. The four guys just gathered up their ropes and got off the field. Gareth said, "there goes all of New Zealand's air force..."

We thoroughly enjoyed the pre-game entertainment. But of course being immigrants, we can't help but compare the show to Arizona's professional sports games. The Arizona Diamondbacks had fireworks displays and sometimes, after the national anthem, F-16 fighter jets flew overhead in formation. The Crusaders don't have room in the budget for F-16's (does New Zealand even own any fighter jets?), but we think they do pretty well working with what they've got.