ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Culture
FADED FAME
Party guests at a Rotorua house party continue to suffer under the weight of Matt Jacobson’s unwavering commitment to keeping 2008 alive —the year the now 34-year-old claims he “really peaked” in both rugby and cricket at Rotorua Boys’ High School.
Despite the passing of 17 years, a shift in friend groups, and the advent of smartphones, Jacobson continues to bring up his brief stints in the school’s 1st XV and 1st XI as if they occurred last season and had any bearing on his current life, which mostly involves admin work and some low-level weekday social sport.
“I mean, I didn’t start every 1st XV game,” Jacobson clarified unprompted at a recent housewarming in Tauranga. “But I was always ready to come off the bench. I was what you’d call a real impact player – oi Johnny, do you remember that chip and chase try I got against Hamilton Boys High?” Jacobson said, while trying to re-enact a move he did 17 years ago.
Our reporters inside the flat spoke to some party guests who began to feel a sense of deja vu as he continued to tell the same story..
“He steered the whole chat from interest rates and his current job to the 2008 Rotorua 1st XV vs Hamilton Boys’ grudge match,” said one guest.
Jacobson’s cricket anecdotes have also seen an aggressive resurgence in recent months, with particular focus on a “one-off innings of 41 not out, he achieved batting at seven in a wet midweek Gillette Cup game.
“Mate, I just saw it like a beach ball that day,” Jacobson explained for what seemed like the fifth time in two hours. “Dropped on 3, yes, but after that it was carnage. Even the coach said it was tidy. Real tidy innings for a number seven.”
Our reporters decided not to ask for more comments, but were scared off the property after Jacobson kept asking us if we wanted more quotes from him.
More to come.
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