While in the United States gridiron football is king,
across the Pacific and Australasia,
the sport of choice is rugby.
For the past six weeks,
New Zealand has been hosting the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC),
with the home team’s “All Blacks” just defeating France 8-7 in the finals.
During this time, the RWC had to share its stage with global movements for social equity.
In downtown Auckland (New Zealand’s biggest city),
the landscape transformed from a typical big city central business district (CBD) inundated with glitzy stores,
to one that shared commercialized space
with increasingly ubiquitous RWC advertising and merchandise.
Before the RWC even began,
advertisers were manipulating consumers’ desires,
coupling New Zealand’s scenic beauty
with sporting nationalism
and a perceived need to buy tickets.
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