The All Whites’ parade through Wellington has brought the spotlight back to football and refreshed memories of those heady days when our boys managed to avoid getting beat in the World Cup. 

I confess to being among those who thought having a parade was a spot OTT – Martin Devlin puts it rather well in his TVNZ blog. 

Ultimately, however, there was a parade because the public wanted one. The All Whites, dismissed by many pre World Cup as “no-hopers and part-timers” captured hearts and minds at home and abroad. 

As one UK paper put it “Every World Cup needs underdogs, and there is none more appealing than the Kiwis”. 

It was a remarkable performance for a country with just one professional soccer team. But it wasn’t just the All Whites’ stolid play that won acclaim, it was their character. Their sportsmanship, their athleticism and nice guy captain Ryan Nelson epitomised the perception the world has of New Zealanders as upholding standards that the rest of the world has let slip.

That perception can be irritating – cue the old chestnut about the air hostess announcing  “Ladies and Gentlemen we are now landing in Auckland, please set your watches back 50 years” but there’s some truth in it as far as our sportspeople are concerned.

Fifty years ago European football was characterised by players like Sir Stanley Matthews, a vegetarian teetotaller who played for England until the age of 42 and at the top level until he was 50 – with a career break to serve in the RAF during the war.

My father-in-law – another Matthews (no relation) – was a gifted Kiwi player in the 1940s.He captained the New Zealand Army soccer team - along with fighting at El Alamein. After the war he went to England to train to be a Baptist minister, played for local clubs and caught the eye of the then mighty Crystal Palace club - before following his calling into the church instead. 

But today, so much of the beautiful game seems to be populated by tawdry sleazebags whose scandals, excesses and Wives and Girlfriends (WAGS) generate more headlines than their sporting prowess. 

I saw the brilliant English comedian Bill Bailey live in Wellington during the World Cup and he described English premiership players as “borderline rapists”.  Clearly there’s a lot of artistic licence there but it does illustrate the English public’s growing disgust at players’ behaviour. 

In a World Cup full of petulant Frenchmen and diva Italians and where Wayne Rooney - who Bill Bailey described as being like a “teenage ferret” - swore at his own fans, the Kiwi lads were a breath of fresh air.

The attitude of our football players is still more akin to that of our rugby players – and they want to share their passion for the game.

Mark Paston – and other Wellington All Whites – can barely have shaken the South African dust from their boots before they were out having kickabouts with youngsters, including my 10-year-old, at the Wellington Phoenix fun day. The queue for Ricki Herbert’s autograph seemed endless but he waved away officials who tried to call a halt and insisted on signing for all comers.

The following week my sport-mad boy went to the All Black’s Rippa rugby roadshow.  The entire squad appeared to be out in force. To name but a few, Jerome Kaino was blowing up balloons, Dan Carter was refereeing, Aaron Cruden and Conrad Smith were supervising the kicking competition and Cory Jane, Joe Rocococo and Anthony Boric smiled gamely through 172 photo opportunities with young fans – for evidence of their fortitude see this website.

I don’t know whether the England football or rugby squads host such fun days but even if the kids could get past the bodyguards, how many England players would risk straining their multi million dollar fetlocks in a kickabout?

Which brings me to my point. Polls show that football is increasing dramatically in popularity in New Zealand. Inevitably the game’s going to grow bigger here and, ultimately, more professional teams will be established.

Let’s hope that strategists and the marketing and media people at New Zealand Football (NZF) are already making long-term plans to ensure that, as the game grows, there are measures in place to ensure that connection with the public is maintained - and that our players’ boots stay firmly on the ground.