They are not 'Team New Zealand' or the 'New Zealand' Warriors! An exploration of pseudo-nationalism in New Zealand sporting franchises

Often international sport can be viewed through a nationalistic lens, with sport allowing for nation-based team selections and competitions. Alternatively, we probe the notion of pseudo-nationalism in a New Zealand setting to examine two professional teams that, falsely, evoke familiar symbols and l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sport in society 2021-11, Vol.24 (11), p.2019-2035
Main Authors: Sturm, Damion, Kavanagh, Tom, Rinehart, Robert E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Clubs
Corporate nationalism
Franchises
imagined communities
invented traditions
Nationalism
Rugby
rugby League
sport media
Team sports
yachting
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Summary:Often international sport can be viewed through a nationalistic lens, with sport allowing for nation-based team selections and competitions. Alternatively, we probe the notion of pseudo-nationalism in a New Zealand setting to examine two professional teams that, falsely, evoke familiar symbols and linkages to the nation. The first is 'Team New Zealand', which races in the global America's Cup yachting series but overtly manufactures nationalistic links between the corporate sport, syndicate and nation. The second is the 'New Zealand' Warriors which operates as a professional franchise in the Australian-based National Rugby League competition against 15 other Australian clubs. Despite their corporate structures, as well as circulation in non-nation-based sporting contests, both teams exhibit forms of pseudo-nationalism by conflating, obfuscating and masquerading as nationally-representative sports teams. Collectively, both teams proffer a contested vision of pseudo-nationalism by mimicking other national sport teams while projecting, evoking and imploring an allegiance to 'New Zealandness'.
ISSN:1743-0437
1743-0445
DOI:10.1080/17430437.2021.1957835