Their wings have not been clipped…

Last week I encouraged Wellingtonians to get out and support the Phoenix as we attempt to #SaveTheNix Plenty of people turned up to the stadium to support the team, 13,654 in fact! That’s over double what the Phoenix have had at their last few home games! So: THANK YOU! It was a fantastic evening of football […]

The Wellington Phoenix are trying to avoid bursting into flames.

In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn, by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. In Wellington the Phoenix are the football team that are currently in a bit of potential trouble. According to some sources, a phoenix dies in a show of flames and combustion… one […]

TAWA5 Best Regular Entertainment

As we know, Wellington is full of fun things to do, and on a regular basis. Whether giving us something to eat, something to groove to, or something to yell about, these are the events that kept us coming back for seconds.

Phoenix in ‘not crap’ shock

Phoenix logo

Wellington Phoenix 3 Sydney FC 0

The Phoenix made a lot of friends on Sunday afternoon with a confident display against an out of sorts Sydney side. Rarely troubled at the back, showing good enterprise and pace going forward, and superbly marshalled by the experienced Ross Aloisi in central midfield, the Phoenix looked better than both the Rufer-era Kingz and the woeful Knights put together.

The official attendance was just over 6,000 (which is sensational for a pre-season match) and the organisers sensibly stuck us all on one side of the ground to help harness the atmosphere. The official site has yet to be updated with the result and Stuff don’t have a match report so I’ll tell you that there were two goals for Shane Smeltz plus an own goal from an unknown Sydney player.

The Brazilian number 4 Cleberson is going to be a definite crowd favourite – he’s a big lump of a bloke and he totally bossed the central defence, winning everything in the air – and compatriot Cortes looked pretty lively down the right wing.

Phoenix match tickets go on sale on August 13 and I’d recommend getting into them early, particularly as more than half the games are kid-friendly Sunday afternoon affairs and it won’t stay this cold forever.

Phoenix: Warm-up Match Moved Again

Phoenix logoThe first Wellington Phoenix home pre-season game has been moved for the second time. Originally announced for the Basin Reserve, at some point it was switched to Newtown Park and now, according to the official site it has been moved to Westpac Stadium due to “concerns that Newtown Park would not have the capacity to cope with the big crowd expected.”

Sunday at 2.00pm is kick-off time and the tickets are only $10 (and free for under 16s). Opposition Sydney FC are one of the A-League glamour sides (former Liverpool and England star Robbie Fowler was over there discussing terms for a move last week) and should give the Phoenix a test.

I’m gutted the match has been moved from the Basin as I wanted to tell the story of the last time there was a major football match there back in 1994 (maybe). The All Whites were playing an exhibition match against top German outfit Werder Bremen and legend Wynton Rufer was going to play a half for each side. As is so often the case, far more people turned up than expected and most of us were still queuing outside when the game kicked off. Anyway, a young lady in one of the flats above the trophy shop opposite decided to ease our pain a little by lifting her t-shirt over her head and giving us a flash. But, I’ll have to tell that story some other time.

If you are a Google Calendar user you can click on the button below to subscribe to my Wellington Phoenix fixtures calendar, letting you know when and where the lads will be playing each weekend so you can either get your tickets or set your MySky.

Wellington Phoenix FC

Gah. If the stories we’re hearing tonight are true, then we are … underwhelmed.

Seriously, Black Star Wellington was the bomb.

And even Wellington City or Wellington FC were better options.

But … “Phoenix“?

Ah well.

Update. Well, it’s official, and, having slept on it, I suppose it’s something we can live with. At least it’s not the Wellington Bumblebees.

What’s in a name #1

So, perhaps the most drawn out sports decision ever to be made by an Australasian sporting body has finally been confirmed, and a Wellington bid has won the right field a team in Australia’s A-League soccer competition.

Now all they need is a name (oh, and some players, and a home ground, but let’s not mention that).

So, what do we think. What’s a good name for our local professional football team. The guys over at the A-League discussion forums have come up with some suggestions…

  • Wellington Wizards
  • Wellington Wonders
  • Wellington Wanderers

…but, you know, that whole sports team alliteration thing is a bit passé. There’s some support for just continuing the Knights (noooo!), and, likewise, for a good old fashioned appendage like United, FC, or City. Today’s DomPost had these suggestions…

  • Wellington Thunder
  • Wellington Fever
  • Wellington Hornets
  • Wellington Blast

…of which Hornets doesn’t ring too bad, although, do we have hornets in Wellington? Surely the Wellington Killer Bees would be more appropriate? And despite the enthusiasm of the supporters on the back page of the DomPost today, I don’t think ‘Fever’ is the best idea in the world – the rich potential for headline puns when things go horribly wrong is just too much to consider.

Any other thoughts?