Christmas Eve, 2004

Hi everybody, welcome to entry #1 of our Australia-New Zealand web journal!

[Polite applause]

Evan here, but please call me by my native Maori name: "Pau-Pau Helmut." And this is my co-captain and beautiful wife Wendy, but from now on, she will be known by her Maori name "Foop Bingh." We also have recorded our Co-captain Team Birkhead Australia-New Zealand theme song - the hit single is already available on Def Jam CDs and tape for $12.95.

OK, I know the date stamp says December 25th but we've already set the time zone on the blog to Sydney time. So that means it's already Christmas in Australia! Merry Christmas Australia! I was thinking maybe this will help us adjust to the time zone and the new culture psychologically. That and the Maori name thing.

Everything we currently know about Australia we learned from the "Australia" show at the I-Max theater in Syracuse last week: 1) Nobody lives in the middle part except for kangaroos, which can run really fast, travel in huge herds, and guy kangaroos kick-box each other during courtship. 2) Koala bears lack the tree-climbing skills you would expect them to have. 3) It rains once per decade. 4) We'll be on our way there in 48 hours!!

[Raucous stadium cheering]

TTYS - and a special message to Team Syracuse - we're going to have a blue Christmas without you! Love to all