IT'S HARD to believe the 50-game landmark has been reached by Wellington Phoenix.
I remember the media being summoned to the offices of Century City Developments in early 2007 where we were told their owner Terry Serepisos had become something of a white knight for New Zealand football, literally rescuing the professional game in this country by stumping up the cash to guarantee we'd still have a franchise in the A-League.
This of course followed the disaster that was the New Zealand Knights - a team that did it's best to destroy any credibility the professional game here may have had, both on and off the field.
Back then, Phoenix had no players, no sponsors, no backroom staff...in fact, it didn't even have a name.
And here we are two-and-a-bit years on at game #50.
I've seen each and every one of the Phoenix's 50 A-League matches and it's certainly been a rocky ride at times.
There have been some real highs - the first game against Melbourne still stands out, as do subsequent wins over Victory and Sydney FC. And of course there was the wonderful coup which saw David Beckham's LA Galaxy visit Wellington in December of 2007.
There have been plenty of frustrations too. In season one, some of the defending verged on comical, as players clearly out of their depth at this level were put in charge of defending the Phoenix goal, which on several occasions they were spectacularly unable to do.
This season the problem has been converting draws into wins....four stalemates in four weeks have been frustrating for players, coaches and fans alike.
Many players have come and gone from the club. Season one's captain Ross Aloisi quickly became a cult hero with his heart-on-the-sleeve attitude and obvious love for his new side. Shane Smeltz was an incredibly prolific goalscorer, netting nearly half of Phoenix's goals during his time here.
Home-town hero Vaughn Coveny got his 37-year old legs pumping to great effect on many occasions and Glen Moss was one of the A-League's best goalkeepers, time and again producing incredible saves to keep his goal intact.
Others haven't been quite so good. Brazilians Cleberson and George were nice enough blokes and they tried hard, but they just weren't very good footballers. Striker Royce Brownlie came here with big raps but never started a game.
Former Premiership player Ahmed Elrich scored one superb goal, but didn't do much else and Chinese midfielder Leilei Gao had immense talent but just couldn't be bothered.
Then there are the players who have been here since day one. In particular, Tim Brown, Tony Lochhead, Michael Ferrante and Daniel have all made significant contributions to the life of this football team.
And the whole time, they've been under the watchful eye of coach Ricki Herbert. He's certainly had his detractors, including some fairly public ones, but he also brought up his half-century. He's the most credentialed New Zealand coach and (I believe anyway) the right man for the job.
So, on a windy Sunday afternoon against the Mariners, Phoenix racked up match number fifty. There's one thing you certainly can't deny; this football club has been a welcome addition to Wellington's sporting landscape. The colour and atmosphere at home games is unlike any other event at the Stadium and our city would be the poorer without them.
Phoenix's A-League licence is up for renewal at the end of this season, and while there have been noises made about that not being 100% confirmed, Terry Serepisos has made some very positive comments about getting an extension, and a ten-year one at that.
Let's hope that in a couple of years time, we're celebrating a century of games and looking back on more highs than lows in the second half of the life of Wellington Phoenix.
* This blog was originally submitted two weeks ago but, erm, got lost in a certain online editor's inbox. Apologies. I have since sacked myself, branded the act unfair and then reinstated myself on a vastly inflated salary.
