The Orange

Now if I was really serious or at least motivated, I’d come up with my own April Fool’s hoax.

Like the IRB have found evidence of the AB’s being poisoned in 1995 and have been awarded the World Cup on a judicial review.

Or something to do with the fact that rugby league players in Australia have been seen drinking soft drinks.

Or NZ scored 600 runs in a test match.

Oops, that one isn’t a hoax after all!

Anyway, if you’ve got a bit of time, check out the 100 Best April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time.

Some sporting hoaxes I like:

#20: The 26-Day Marathon

1981: The Daily Mail ran a story about an unfortunate Japanese long-distance runner, Kimo Nakajimi, who had entered the London Marathon but, on account of a translation error, thought that he had to run for 26 days, not 26 miles. Reportedly Nakajimi was now somewhere out on the roads of England, still running, determined to finish the race. Various people had spotted him, though they were unable to flag him down. The translation error was attributed to Timothy Bryant, an import director, who said, “I translated the rules and sent them off to him. But I have only been learning Japanese for two years, and I must have made a mistake. He seems to be taking this marathon to be something like the very long races they have over there.”

And good to see sport can be the winner on the day!

#82: Maradona Joins Soviet Soccer Team

In 1988 the Soviet newspaper Izvestia reported that the world-renowned Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona was in negotiations to join the Moscow Spartaks. The Spartaks were to pay him $6 million to play on their struggling team. Izvestia later admitted that the story was an April Fool’s day joke, but only after the news was disseminated by the Associated Press, which then had to publish a red-faced retraction. The AP had believed the story because it was the first time in modern memory that a Soviet newspaper had published an April Fool’s day hoax. The sudden display of humor was attributed to Mikhail Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost, or openness.

And the final one for Tiger:

#91: Augusta National Goes Public

The May 1990 issue of Golf magazine had good news for golf enthusiasts. It reported that Augusta National, the elite private golf course where the Masters tournament is held, would begin allowing public access to its course at certain times. As a result of this report, both Augusta National and Golf magazine received hundreds of calls from eager golfers inquiring about playing privileges. But the report was an April fool’s joke, despite its placement in the May issue. Golf magazine was forced to publish a retraction, reaffirming that Augusta National was still a private club open only to members and guests.