Top of the table... did I mention that we're top of the table again? Thought so, but I just had to make sure.

A win over Canterbury is a massive achievement, if I remember rightly Canterbury were the only team that we hadn't beaten since returning to the first division in 2001.  Even without some of their All Blacks, Canterbury still managed to field a team including players of the class of Ellis, Slade, Brett, and Whitelock. But the purpose of my ramblings isn't to talk about Canterbury...

So, after round six we find ourselves again at the top of the table (just checking you'd noticed), and if we were to go back six weeks it would have been unbelievable. Remaining banished over the Kaimai ranges, my news of the Steamers comes from whatever appears in the Mafia forum and what the Bay of Plenty Times decides to publish online. And it didn't look great, three preseason losses, and all of a sudden Greg Smith was out the door amid all sorts of rumours and discussion. I then wandered down to the Northland game with JP, and at halftime the season ahead for the Bay looked, well, like it was going to be a long one...

But something must have been said at halftime that night, because since then the Bay have performed almost flawlessly. Even against Auckland the fight was there right till Nigel Hunt touched down in the 80th minute, and now we've beaten Canterbury for the first time apparently since 1996. (Did I mention the Air NZ Cup table again?) From what I'm reading, hearing, and seeing, it's all down to Bay Pride. Bay Pride among the players, coaches, managers, and the wider squad. 

We support a team that stays in holiday parks and cooks their own meals while their opposition stays in 3 and 4 star hotels. We support a team that started Round 1 of the Air New Zealand Cup with no coach. We support a Union who is dogged by rumours of financial trouble on what seems like an annual basis. We support a team with two home grounds, one of which has a speedway track running around the middle of it. We support a team with one All Black and five Super 14 players up against teams with many. We support a team in a competition that is threatening to arbitrarily relegate four teams to a lower division in 2010. 

Through all this, we support a team that has so far beaten Wellington, Waikato, Canterbury, Northland, and Counties Manukau, and it's only the end of round six. Oh, and about that table... 

So while it's tempting to start a discussion of how each player is going, suggest new All Blacks, Super 14 players, areas for improvement, and so on... let's just pause for a moment, and raise your glass to our players, coaches, managers, union officials, and most importantly, Bay Pride.