It's about passion not fashion
It's about passion not fashion.
While the Barmy Army has long been synonymous with English cricket supporters, in recent years New Zealand cricket has discovered its own band of fervent followers.
They call themselves the Beige Brigade.
It all started in the summer of 1999 when a posse of diehard supporters began regularly attending games wearing the distinctive strip of the New Zealand team of the early 1980's.
The strip - much maligned for its brown and beige hues and the overly snug fit - was worn as a tribute to the '80's team that featured some world class players including Sir Richard Hadlee.
The Beige Brigade’s uniforms and boisterous unconditional support attracted much media coverage, leading cricket commentators to suggest their presence heralded a new wave of support for the oft-struggling national team.
As demand for membership and the beige strip grew, and the Beige Brigade became something akin to a youth movement, it also lead to the revival of all manner of icons of New Zealand pop culture circa 1981.
Brigadiers are now commonly seen sporting the very short rugby shorts known as "stubbies", as well as other items such as sweat bands, fluorescent zinc sunblock applied liberally to the nose and lips, and aviator sunglasses that were once staples of New Zealand summer menswear.
Today the Brigade sell their merchandise to the general public, along with a contract outlining the protocol expected of a Beige Brigadier.
Such has been their impact on local cricketing culture that New Zealand Cricket (NZC) agreed that the Black Caps don the beige uniform for the inaugural Twenty20 match against arch-rivals Australia. This was a far cry from the early days of the Beige Brigade when CEO Martin Snedden told the Brigade's top brass "NZ Cricket had invested heavily in the black branding for the Black Caps and that a return to beige was completely out of the question."
However, the decision for the Black Caps to wear the beige uniforms did not go down well with the Beige Brigade. Certain members felt NZC had unjustly missed them out of the process, despite the work done by supporters designing, funding the manufacture and popularising the clothing.
With members now reaching the thousands, the Beige Brigade organizes tours to major sporting events, and members in their distinctive tight beige uniforms have been spotted at sporting fixtures around the world.
This summer they will be in full force at every game, no doubt competing with the Barmy Army in vocal support of their beloved team.
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