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French teammates celebrate Maxime Medard try as dejected New Zealand's Luke McAlister in the international first rugby test at Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand, Saturday, June 13, 2009. AP Photo/NZPA, Dianne Manson
I’m not talking about just any loss but another heartbreaking Rugby World Cup (RWC) defeat. And heartbreaking can be taken literally, according to an article recently published in the respected medical journal, Clinical Cardiology.
Being a US publication, the article concerns neither New Zealand nor the RWC but rather next Sunday’s Super Bowl. But the salient points could, unfortunately, hold true for the RWC in the land of the long white cloud.
Specifically, the research shows that when the LA Rams lost to the Steelers in the 1980 NFL Super Bowl, played in Pasadena, CA., cardiac events increased significantly in Los Angeles County two weeks after the game.
The increase was 23 per cent compared with cardiac events recorded in the same period a year earlier. The notion that heart problems spike in the wake of intense sporting contests is well-demonstrated in studies of football (soccer) fans whose teams made the World Cup finals.
And no sports contest on the planet this year will match the RWC for spectator intensity – especially in New Zealand.
The first thing one might think regarding that 23 per cent stat is that Kiwis surely must be in better heart health than Californians where few people walk when they can drive. Alas, in a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, one of the world’s top medical authorities, it turns out that Kiwis are woefully prone to heart problems.
So the question remains: how can Kiwis keep emotions, which seems to be the key issue, from getting out of hand during the RWC? Indeed, how can Aussies, who are also pretty low on the cardiac scale, and Brits, Saffers and French people keep emotions under control during the tourney?
Adopt a more zen-like approach to losing? Easy to recommend, hard to put into practice. Besides, who’s to say which teams will lose? The Kiwis are favourites and deserve to be. If they win, as expected, then the country could dodge a coronary bullet.
The potential problem is exacerbated for Kiwis by the length of the RWC. While the Super Bowl runs for only three or four hours, the RWC starts for the All Blacks, and by extention New Zealand, on September 9, and if they make the final doesn’t end till 44 days later.
That’s an awfully long time to keep emotions in check because even when the All Blacks aren’t on the field their main competitors will be, and New Zealanders will be rooting against them.
Is there another way to assuage the possible side effects of these 44 days?
Yes, say the good doctors of New Zealand. Watch what you eat. On the afternoon and evening of Super Bowl Sunday, the streets of America are practically deserted. The folks are all inside glued to the TV, a majority of them chomping on stuff like chicken wings, Doritos and take-out barbecue, and helping it on its greasy way with Bud after Bud.
Will Kiwis go on a 44-day bender of convenience foods, salty snacks and suds?
As a non-medical Aussie, I’m hoping the Wallabies will win.
However, my brother-in-law, who’s a doctor in NZ, is hoping the All Blacks will win – partly for patriotic reasons, and partly because he doesn’t get paid for overtime.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.