3 August 2011
Backingblack Backs the All Blacks’ Greatest Fan
In this country, most people would consider themselves an All Blacks fan, but most do not show the true fanaticism
uncovered in a recent competition to find the ultimate BackingBlack All Blacks fan.
BackingBlack, the All Blacks’ fan club, chose a handful of finalists out of the hundreds who wrote in with 100 words on
why they were the biggest fans. Dean Hohaia (Dunedin), Felix Matheson (North Auckland), Karl Bissett (East Auckland),
Victor Lloyd (Christchurch) and Stephen Hall (England) emerged as the best of the best, and after two weeks of having
the chance to go all out and prove that were, in fact, the ultimate fan, Telecom’s BackingBlack team can finally
announce the winner!
Felix Matheson, aged 9, of Auckland’s Stanmore Bay topped the lot with his impressive efforts. The judging panel that
comprised of the Telecom BackingBlack team and the New Zealand Rugby Union noted Felix’s dedication to our national
team.
“We were amazed by the amount of passion Felix has, given he is only 9 years old. We know he is an avid collector of all
things to do with the All Blacks, even saving up his pocket money to buy old videos and small player figurines,” says
Paul Dalton, Commercial Manager of the NZRU.
Over the course of the BackingBlack competition Felix handed out his own hand-made flyers, set up a fan page on Facebook
receiving over 30,000 views, and even got Russell Crowe to pledge his support on Twitter – all with the help of mum, of
course.
Felix currently plays hooker in his Silverdale rugby team, and when he grows up would love to be an All Black. As part
of being the winner, he will attend the closed All Blacks training session tomorrow at Trusts Stadium in Waitakere,
where he will get to meet the team.
Caroline Booth of Telecom says, “BackingBlack was created for the fans to keep them connected to the All Blacks. We have
grown to well over 80,000 members and look forward to recruiting even more to get behind our favourite team in such a
big year for New Zealand rugby! We congratulate Felix and respect his passion of our boys in black.”
For more information visit www.backingblack.co.nz or www.facebook.com/backingblack.
ENDS